Controlling motorized window treatments in response to multiple sensors

ABSTRACT

A motorized window treatment system controls a plurality of motorized window treatments to maximize daylight autonomy, while minimizing cognitive dissonance. The system may include motorized window treatments, window sensors, and a system controller. Each motorized window treatment may be operable to adjust a respective covering material to control the amount of light entering a space. Each sensor may be mounted adjacent to at least one of the motorized window treatments, and may be configured to measure an amount of daylight shining on the sensor. The system controller may receive sensor readings from the sensors and may control the motorized window treatments in response to the sensors to keep the covering materials aligned when the sensor readings are within a predetermined amount. The system controller may dynamically group and re-group the sensors into subgroups based upon the sensor readings and may control the motorized window treatments based upon the subgroups.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/690,382, filed Aug. 30, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No.10,753,147 issued Aug. 25, 2020, which is a divisional of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/748,128 filed Jun. 23, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No.9,752,383, issued Sep. 5, 2017, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/015,760, filed Jun. 23, 2014, thedisclosures of which are hereby incorporated in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

Motorized window treatments, such as, for example, motorized rollershades and draperies, provide for control of the amount of sunlightentering a space. Some prior art motorized window treatments have beenautomatically controlled in response to various inputs, such as daylightsensors and timeclocks, to control the amount of daylight entering aspace to adjust the total lighting level in the space to a desiredlevel. For example, the load control system may attempt to maximize theamount of daylight entering the space in order to minimize the intensityof the electrical lighting in the space. In addition, some prior artload control systems additionally controlled the positions of themotorized window treatments to prevent sun glare in the space toincrease occupant comfort, for example, as described in greater detailin commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 7,950,827, issued May 31, 2011,entitled ELECTRICALLY CONTROLLABLE WINDOW TREATMENT SYSTEM TO CONTROLSUN GLARE IN A SPACE, the entire disclosure of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

While automated control of motorized window treatments are performed,the present systems for performing automated control of a motorizedwindow treatment fail to consider the current status of other motorizedwindow treatments in the building when performing control of themotorized window treatment. For example, the present systems fail toconsider the status of other motorized window treatments to enablealignment of the position of the window treatments within the system.The present systems also fail to consider the amount of light beingreceived at the other motorized window treatments when performingautomated control of the system as a whole.

SUMMARY

As described herein, a load control system (e.g., a motorized windowtreatment system) may control a plurality of motorized window treatmentsto maximize daylight autonomy, while minimizing cognitive dissonance.The motorized window treatment system may comprise a plurality ofmotorized window treatments, a plurality of window sensors, and a systemcontroller. Each of the motorized window treatments may be operable toadjust a respective covering material to control the amount of lightentering a space. Each of the sensors may be mounted adjacent to atleast one of the motorized window treatments, and may be configured tomeasure an amount of daylight shining on the respective sensor. Thesystem controller may be configured to receive sensor readings from thesensors and to control the motorized window treatments in response tothe sensors to keep the covering materials aligned while the sensorreadings are within a predetermined amount of one another.

The system controller may dynamically group the window sensors togetherinto sensor groups, or subgroups of a master group. The systemcontroller may control the motorized window treatments based upon thesensor groups. The system controller may dynamically re-group the sensorgroups when the system controller receives an updated sensor readingfrom a sensor in the sensor group. The updated sensor readings may becurrent sensor readings that indicate a change in the light levelmeasured by a sensor.

The system controller may identify shade groups for each sensor groupthat may be controlled according to a group sensor value for the shadegroup. Each shade group may be located on a façade of a building, or aportion of the façade of the building. The shade group may include asensor group (e.g., subgroups) and one or more shades for beingcontrolled according to the sensor group. The shade group may becontrolled according to a group sensor value that may be representativeof the sensor readings of the sensors in the sensor group. The groupsensor value may be the highest sensor reading for the sensors in thesensor group.

The system control of groups of motorized window treatments may allowfor alignment of the shades in a shade group when the sensor values forthe shades are within a predetermined amount of one another, while stillallowing for independent control of the shades in certain instances.Other features will become apparent from the following description thatrefers to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a load control system havingboth load control devices and motorized window treatments.

FIG. 2 is a simplified side view of an example of a space of a buildinghaving a window covered by the motorized roller shade of the loadcontrol system of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3A is a side view of the window of FIG. 2 illustrating a sunlightpenetration depth.

FIG. 3B is a top view of the window of FIG. 2 when the sun is directlyincident upon the window.

FIG. 3C is a top view of the window of FIG. 2 when the sun is notdirectly incident upon the window.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a façade of a building illustrating the controlof each of the motorized window treatments along the façade as a singlegroup.

FIG. 5A is a simplified flowchart of an example control procedure forcontrolling a plurality of motorized roller treatments to maintainhorizontal alignment of the hembars of the motorized window treatments.

FIG. 5B is a simplified flowchart of an example dark override timertimeout procedure.

FIG. 6 is a top view of a façade of a building illustrating the controlof each of the motorized window treatments along the façade as multiplegroups.

FIG. 7 is a simplified flowchart of an example control procedure forcontrolling a plurality of motorized roller treatments to maintain thehorizontal alignment of the hembars of the motorized window treatmentswhen sensor readings for the motorized window treatments are within apredetermined amount.

FIG. 8 is a simplified flowchart of an example procedure for determiningreal time sensor grouping.

FIG. 9A is a simplified flowchart of another example control procedurefor controlling a plurality of motorized roller treatments to maintainthe horizontal alignment of the hembars of the motorized windowtreatments when sensor readings for the motorized window treatments arewithin a predetermined amount.

FIG. 9B is a simplified flowchart of an example sunlight penetrationlimiting mode evaluation procedure.

FIG. 9C is a simplified flowchart of an example dark override modeevaluation procedure.

FIGS. 10A-10G show an example system for controlling a plurality ofmotorized window treatments at different instants in time in order tomaintain the horizontal alignment of the hembars of the motorized windowtreatments when sensor readings for the motorized window treatments arewithin a predetermined amount.

FIG. 11A is a simplified flowchart of another example control procedurefor controlling a plurality of motorized roller treatments to maintainthe horizontal alignment of the hembars of the motorized windowtreatments when sensor readings for the motorized window treatments arewithin a predetermined amount.

FIG. 11B is a simplified flowchart of an example procedure fordetermining a group sensor value.

FIGS. 12A and 12B show an additional example system for controlling aplurality of motorized window treatments at different instants in timein order to maintain the horizontal alignment of the hembars of themotorized window treatments when sensor readings for the motorizedwindow treatments are within a predetermined amount.

FIG. 13 is a simplified flowchart of an example start dark overridetimer procedure.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating an example network device.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of an example system controller.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating an example load control device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a simple diagram of an example load control system 100 forcontrolling the amount of power delivered from an alternating-current(AC) power source (not shown) to one or more electrical loads. The loadcontrol system 100 may comprise a system controller 110 (e.g., a loadcontroller or a central controller) operable to transmit and receivedigital messages via both wired and wireless communication links. Forexample, the system controller 110 may be coupled to one or more wiredcontrol devices via a wired digital communication link 104. The systemcontroller 110 may be configured to transmit and receive wirelesssignals, e.g., radio-frequency (RF) signals 106, to communicate with oneor more wireless control devices. The load control system 100 maycomprise a number of control-source devices (e.g., input devicesoperable to transmit digital messages in response to user inputs,occupancy/vacancy conditions, changes in measured light intensity, etc.)and a number of control-target devices (e.g., load control devicesoperable to receive digital messages and control respective electricalloads in response to the received digital messages). A single controldevice of the load control system 100 may operate as both acontrol-source and a control-target device. The system controller 110may be configured to receive digital messages from the control-sourcedevices and transmit digital messages to the control-target devices inresponse to the digital messages received from the control-sourcedevices.

The load control system 100 may comprise a load control device, such asa dimmer switch 120, for controlling a lighting load 122. The dimmerswitch 120 may be adapted to be wall-mounted in a standard electricalwallbox. The dimmer switch 120 may comprise a tabletop or plug-in loadcontrol device. The dimmer switch 120 may comprise a toggle actuator 124(e.g., a button) and an intensity adjustment actuator 126 (e.g., arocker switch). Successive actuations of the toggle actuator 124 maytoggle, e.g., turn off and on, the lighting load 122. Actuations of anupper portion or a lower portion of the intensity adjustment actuator126 may respectively increase or decrease the amount of power deliveredto the lighting load 122 and thus increase or decrease the intensity ofthe lighting load from a minimum intensity (e.g., approximately 1%) to amaximum intensity (e.g., approximately 100%). The dimmer switch 120 mayfurther comprise a plurality of visual indicators 128, e.g.,light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which may be arranged in a linear arrayand may be illuminated to provide feedback of the intensity of thelighting load 122. Examples of wall-mounted dimmer switches aredescribed in greater detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,919, issued Sep. 28,1993, entitled LIGHTING CONTROL DEVICE, and U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2014/0132475, published May 15, 2014, entitled WIRELESSLOAD CONTROL DEVICE, the entire disclosures of which are herebyincorporated by reference.

The dimmer switch 120 may be configured to receive digital messages fromthe system controller 110 via the RF signals 106 and to control thelighting load 122 in response to the received digital messages. Examplesof dimmer switches operable to transmit and receive digital messages isdescribed in greater detail in U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2009/0206983, published Aug. 20, 2009, entitled COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FORA RADIO-FREQUENCY LOAD CONTROL SYSTEM, the entire disclosure of which ishereby incorporated by reference. Alternatively, the dimmer switch 120may be coupled to the wired digital communication link 104.

The load control system 100 may further comprise one or moreremotely-located load control devices, such as light-emitting diode(LED) drivers 130 for driving respective LED light sources 132 (e.g.,LED light engines). The LED drivers 130 may be located remotely, forexample, in the lighting fixtures of the respective LED light sources132. The LED drivers 130 may be configured to receive digital messagesfrom the system controller 110 via the digital communication link 104and to control the respective LED light sources 132 in response to thereceived digital messages. The LED drivers 130 may be coupled to aseparate digital communication link, such as an Ecosystem® or digitaladdressable lighting interface (DALI) communication link, and the loadcontrol system 100 may include a digital lighting controller coupledbetween the digital communication link 104 and the separatecommunication link. The LED drivers 132 may include internal RFcommunication circuits or be coupled to external RF communicationcircuits (e.g., mounted external to the lighting fixtures, such as to aceiling) for transmitting and/or receiving the RF signals 106. The loadcontrol system 100 may comprise other types of remotely-located loadcontrol devices, such as, for example, electronic dimming ballasts fordriving fluorescent lamps.

The load control system 100 may include a plurality of daylight controldevices, e.g., motorized window treatments, such as motorized rollershades 140, to control the amount of daylight entering the building inwhich the load control system is installed. Each motorized roller shade140 may comprise a covering material (e.g., a shade fabric) that may bewound around a roller tube for raising and lowering the shade fabric.Each motorized roller shade 140 may include an electronic drive unit(EDU) 142, which may be located inside the roller tube of the motorizedroller shade. The electronic drive units 142 may be coupled to thedigital communication link 104 for transmitting and receiving digitalmessages, and may be configured to adjust the position of a windowtreatment fabric in response to digital messages received from thesystem controller 110 via the digital communication link. Eachelectronic drive unit 142 could comprise an internal RF communicationcircuit or be coupled to an external RF communication circuit (e.g.,located outside of the roller tube) for transmitting and/or receivingthe RF signals 106. The load control system 100 may comprise other typesof daylight control devices, such as, for example, a cellular shade, adrapery, a Roman shade, a Venetian blind, a Persian blind, a pleatedblind, a tensioned roller shade systems, an electrochromic or smartwindow, or other suitable daylight control device.

The load control system 100 may comprise one or more input devices,e.g., such as a wired keypad device 150, a battery-powered remotecontrol device 152, an occupancy sensor 154, and a daylight sensor 156.In addition, the load control system 100 may comprise one or more windowsensors 158 (e.g., cloudy-day or shadow sensors). The wired keypaddevice 150 may be configured to transmit digital messages to the systemcontroller 110 via the digital communication link 104 in response to anactuation of one or more buttons of the wired keypad device. Thebattery-powered remote control device 152, the occupancy sensor 154, thedaylight sensor 156, and the window sensor 158 may be wireless controldevices (e.g., RF transmitters) configured to transmit digital messagesto the system controller 110 via the RF signals 106 (e.g., directly tothe system controller 110). For example, the battery-powered remotecontrol device 152 may be configured to transmit digital messages to thesystem controller 110 via the RF signals 106 in response to an actuationof one or more buttons of the battery-powered remote control device. Thesystem controller 110 may be configured to transmit one or more digitalmessages to the load control devices (e.g., the dimmer switch 120, theLED drivers 130, and/or the motorized roller shades 140) in response tothe digital messages received from the wired keypad device 150, thebattery-powered remote control device 152, the occupancy sensor 154, thedaylight sensor 156, and/or the window sensor 158.

The load control system 100 may further comprise a wireless adapterdevice 159 coupled to the digital communication link 104 and configuredto receive the RF signals 106. The wireless adapter device 159 may beconfigured to transmit a digital message to the system controller 110via the digital communication link 104 in response to a digital messagereceived from one of the wireless control devices via the RF signals106. For example, the wireless adapter device 159 may simply re-transmitthe digital messages received from the wireless control devices on thedigital communication link 104.

The occupancy sensor 154 may be configured to detect occupancy andvacancy conditions in the space in which the load control system 100 isinstalled. The occupancy sensor 154 may transmit digital messages to thesystem controller 110 via the RF signals 106 in response to detectingthe occupancy or vacancy conditions. The system controller 110 may eachbe configured to turn one or more of the lighting load 122 and the LEDlight sources 132 on and off in response to receiving an occupiedcommand and a vacant command, respectively. Alternatively, the occupancysensor 154 may operate as a vacancy sensor, such that the lighting loadsare only turned off in response to detecting a vacancy condition (e.g.,not turned on in response to detecting an occupancy condition). Examplesof RF load control systems having occupancy and vacancy sensors aredescribed in greater detail in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No.8,009,042, issued Aug. 30, 2011, entitled RADIO-FREQUENCY LIGHTINGCONTROL SYSTEM WITH OCCUPANCY SENSING; U.S. Pat. No. 8,199,010, issuedJun. 12, 2012, entitled METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONFIGURING A WIRELESSSENSOR; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,228,184, issued Jul. 24, 2012, entitledBATTERY-POWERED OCCUPANCY SENSOR, the entire disclosures of which arehereby incorporated by reference.

The daylight sensor 156 may be configured to measure a total lightintensity in the space in which the load control system 100 isinstalled. The daylight sensor 156 may transmit digital messagesincluding the measured light intensity to the system controller 110 viathe RF signals 106 for controlling the intensities of one or more of thelighting load 122 and the LED light sources 132 in response to themeasured light intensity. Examples of RF load control systems havingdaylight sensors are described in greater detail in commonly-assignedU.S. Pat. No. 8,410,706, issued Apr. 2, 2013, entitled METHOD OFCALIBRATING A DAYLIGHT SENSOR; and U.S. Pat. No. 8,451,116, issued May28, 2013, entitled WIRELESS BATTERY-POWERED DAYLIGHT SENSOR, the entiredisclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

In addition, the load control system 100 may comprise other types ofinput device, such as, for example, temperature sensors; humiditysensors; radiometers; pressure sensors; smoke detectors; carbon monoxidedetectors; air-quality sensors; motion sensors; security sensors;proximity sensors; fixture sensors; partition sensors; keypads; kineticor solar-powered remote controls; key fobs; cell phones; smart phones;tablets; personal digital assistants; personal computers; laptops;timeclocks; audio-visual controls; safety devices; power monitoringdevices (such as power meters, energy meters, utility submeters, utilityrate meters, etc.), central control transmitters; residential,commercial, or industrial controllers; or any combination of these inputdevices.

The system controller 110 may be configured to control the load controldevices (e.g., the dimmer switch 120, the LED drivers 130, and/or themotorized roller shades 140) according to a timeclock schedule, whichmay be stored in a memory in the system controller 110. The timeclockschedule may include a number of timeclock events, each having an eventtime and a corresponding command or preset. The system controller 110may be configured to keep track of the present time and day and totransmit the appropriate command or preset at the respective event timeof each timeclock event.

The system controller 110 may be operable to be coupled to a network,such as a wireless or wired local area network (LAN) via a networkcommunication bus 160 (e.g., an Ethernet communication link), e.g., foraccess to the Internet. The system controller 110 may be connected to arouter 162 (or Ethernet switch) via the network communication bus 160for allowing the system controller 110 to communicate with additionalsystem controllers for controlling additional electrical loads.Alternatively, the system controller 110 may be wirelessly connected tothe network, e.g., using Wi-Fi technology. The system controller 110 mayalso be configured to communication via the network with one or morenetwork devices, such as, a smart phone (for example, an iPhone® smartphone, an Android® smart phone, or a Blackberry® smart phone), apersonal computer 164, a laptop, a tablet device (for example, an iPad®hand-held computing device), a Wi-Fi or wireless-communication-capabletelevision, or any other suitable Internet-Protocol-enabled device. Thenetwork device may be operable to transmit digital messages to thesystem controller 110 in one or more Internet Protocol packets. Examplesof load control systems operable to communicate with network devices ona network are described in greater detail in commonly-assigned U.S.Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0030589, published Jan. 31,2013, entitled LOAD CONTROL DEVICE HAVING INTERNET CONNECTIVITY, theentire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

The operation of the load control system 100 may be programmed andconfigured using the personal computer 164 or other network device. Thepersonal computer 164 may execute a graphical user interface (GUI)configuration software for allowing a user to program how the loadcontrol system 100 will operate. The configuration software may generatea load control database that defines the operation and/or performance ofthe load control system 100. For example, the load control database mayinclude information regarding the different load control devices of theload control system 100 (e.g., the dimmer switch 120, the LED drivers130, and the motorized roller shades 140). The load control database mayalso include information regarding associations between the load controldevices and the input devices (e.g., the wired keypad device 150, thebattery-powered remote control device 152, the occupancy sensor 154, thedaylight sensor 156, and/or the window sensor 158), and how the loadcontrol devices respond to inputs received from the input devices.Examples of configuration procedures for load control systems aredescribed in greater detail in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No.7,391,297, issued Jun. 24, 2008, entitled HANDHELD PROGRAMMER FOR ALIGHTING CONTROL SYSTEM; U.S. Patent Application Publication No.2008/0092075, published Apr. 17, 2008, entitled METHOD OF BUILDING ADATABASE OF A LIGHTING CONTROL SYSTEM; and U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2014/0265568, published Sep. 18, 2014, entitledCOMMISSIONING LOAD CONTROL SYSTEMS, the entire disclosures of which arehereby incorporated by reference.

The system controller 110 may be configured to automatically control themotorized window treatments (e.g., the motorized roller shades 140) tosave energy and/or improve the comfort of the occupants of the buildingin which the load control system 100 is installed. For example, thesystem controller 110 may be configured to automatically control themotorized roller shades 140 in response to the timeclock schedule, thedaylight sensor 156, and/or the window sensor 158.

The load control system 100 may operate in a sunlight penetrationlimiting mode to control the amount of sunlight entering a space of abuilding, such as the space 170 shown in FIG. 2 , in which the loadcontrol system 100 is installed to control a sunlight penetrationdistance d_(PEN) in the space. Specifically, the system controller 110may be operable to transmit digital messages to the motorized rollershades 140 to limit the sunlight penetration distance d_(PEN) in thespace to a desired maximum sunlight penetration distance d_(MAX). Thesystem controller 110 may comprise an astronomical timeclock, such thatthe system controller 110 is able to determine the sunrise time and thesunset time for each day of the year for a specific location. The systemcontroller 110 may transmit commands to the electronic drive units 142to automatically control the motorized roller shades 140 in response toa timeclock schedule. Alternatively, the personal computer 164 maycomprise the astronomical timeclock and may transmit the digitalmessages to the motorized roller shades 140 to control the sunlightpenetration distance d_(PEN) in the space in which the load controlsystem 100 is installed. An example of a load control system forcontrolling one or more motorized window treatments according to atimeclock schedule to limit the sunlight penetration distance d_(PEN) ina space is described in greater detail in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat.No. 8,288,981, issued Oct. 16, 2012, entitled METHOD OF AUTOMATICALLYCONTROLLING A MOTORIZED WINDOW TREATMENT WHILE MINIMIZING OCCUPANTDISTRACTIONS, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference.

The one or more window sensors 158 may be mounted to the inside surfacesof one or more windows in the space in which the load control system 100is installed or to the exterior of the building. One or more windowsensors 158 may be mounted adjacent to at least one of the motorizedwindow treatments 140. Each window sensor 158 may be battery-poweredand/or may be operable to transmit the RF signals 106 to the wirelessadapter device 159. The window sensor 158 may receive a sensor readingby measuring an amount of daylight (e.g., daylight intensity level)shining on the window sensor 158. The window sensor may transmit digitalmessages via the RF signals 106 that include the sensor reading, forexample, when the magnitude of the light intensity changes by apredetermined amount (e.g., approximately 20%).

The wireless adapter device 159 may be operable to transmit digitalmessages to the system controller 110 via the digital communication link104 in response to the RF signals 106 from the window sensors 158. Inresponse to the digital messages received from the window sensors 158via the wireless adapter device 159, the system controller 110 may beconfigured to enable and disable the sunlight penetration limiting modeas will be described in greater detail herein. The window sensors 158may be located at different windows around the building (as well as aplurality of sensor receiver modules), such that the load control system100 may enable the sunlight penetration limiting mode in some areas ofthe building and not in others. Examples of window sensors are describedin greater detail in commonly assigned U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2014/0156079, published Jun. 5, 2014, entitled METHOD OFCONTROLLING A MOTORIZED WINDOW TREATMENT, the entire disclosure of whichis hereby incorporated by reference.

The load controls system 100 may include pairs of window sensors 158.The pairs of window sensors 158 may be located on opposite sides of amullion of a window of the building or at opposite sides of a window.Each one of the two sensors of the paired window sensors 158 may looksimilar to the daylight sensor 156 shown in FIG. 1 , and may have a lensthat is directed outside the window. The system controller 110 may beresponsive to the measured light intensities of both of the sensors ofeach pair of sensors as if the pair of sensors was a single windowsensor 158. For example, the system controller 110 may add the measuredlight intensities of both of the sensors of each pair of window sensors158 and may enable and disable the sunlight penetration limiting mode inresponse to the sum of the measured light intensities of both of thesensors of each pair of window sensors 158.

FIG. 2 is a simplified side view of an example of the space 170illustrating the sunlight penetration distance d_(PEN) 186, which iscontrolled by the motorized roller shades 140. As shown in FIG. 2 , thebuilding includes a façade 174 (e.g., one side of a four-sidedrectangular building) having a window 176 for allowing sunlight to enterthe space 170. The space 170 may include a work surface, e.g., a table178, which has a height h_(WORK) 188. The window sensor 158 may bemounted adjacent to the motorized roller shades 140. The window sensor158 may be mounted to the window 176. The window sensor 158 may bemounted to the inside surface or the exterior surface of the window 176.The window sensor 158 may be mounted to interior or exterior mullions.The motorized roller shade 140 may be mounted above the window 176. Themotorized roller shade 140 may include a roller tube 182 around which ashade fabric 180 may be wrapped. The shade fabric 180 may have a hembar184 at the lower edge of the shade fabric. The electronic drive unit 142may rotate the roller tube 182 to move the shade fabric 180 between afully-open position P_(FO) (in which the window 176 is not covered) anda fully-closed position P_(FC) (in which the window 176 is fullycovered). The electronic drive unit 142 may control the position of theshade fabric 180 to one of a plurality of preset positions between thefully-open position P_(FO) and the fully-closed position P_(FC).

The sunlight penetration distance d_(PEN) 186 may be the distance intothe space 170 from the window 176 inside the façade 174 at which directsunlight shines into the room. The sunlight penetration distance d_(PEN)186 may be a function of a height h_(WIN) 190 of the window 176 and anangle ϕ_(F) of the façade 174 with respect to true north, as well as asolar elevation angle θ_(S) and a solar azimuth angle ϕ_(S), whichdefine the position of the sun in the sky. The solar elevation angleθ_(S) and the solar azimuth angle ϕ_(S) are functions of the presentdate and time, as well as the position (e.g., the longitude andlatitude) of the building in which the space 170 is located. The solarelevation angle θ_(S) may be the angle between a line directed towardsthe sun and a line directed towards the horizon at the position of thebuilding. The solar elevation angle θ_(S) may also, or alternatively, bethe angle of incidence of the sun's rays on a horizontal surface. Thesolar azimuth angle ϕ_(S) is the angle formed by the line from theobserver to true north and the line from the observer to the sunprojected on the ground. When the solar elevation angle θ_(S) is small(e.g., around sunrise and sunset), small changes in the position of thesun may result in relatively large changes in the magnitude of thesunlight penetration distance d_(PEN) 186.

The sunlight penetration distance d_(PEN) 186 of direct sunlight ontothe table 178 of the space 170 (which is measured normal to the surfaceof the window 176) may be determined by considering a triangle formed bythe length l 192 of the deepest penetrating ray of light (which isparallel to the path of the ray), the difference between the heighth_(WIN) 190 of the window 176 and the height h_(WORK) 188 of the table178, and distance between the table 178 and the wall of the façade 174(e.g., the sunlight penetration distance d_(PEN) 186) as shown in theside view of the window 176 in FIG. 3A, e.g.,tan(θ_(S))=(h _(WIN) −h _(WORK))/

  (Equation 1)where θ_(S) is the solar elevation angle of the sun at a given date andtime for a given location (e.g., longitude and latitude) of thebuilding.

If the sun is directly incident upon the window 176, a solar azimuthangle ϕ_(S) and the façade angle ϕ_(F) (e.g., angle of the façade withrespect to true north) may be equal as shown by the top view of thewindow 176 shown in FIG. 3B. Accordingly, the sunlight penetrationdistance d_(PEN) 186 may equal the length l 192 of the deepestpenetrating ray of light. If the façade angle ϕ_(F) is not equal to thesolar azimuth angle ϕ_(S), the sunlight penetration distance d_(PEN) 192may be a function of the cosine of the difference between the façadeangle ϕ_(F) and the solar azimuth angle ϕ_(S), e.g.,d _(PEN)=

·cos(|ϕ_(F)−ϕ_(S)|),  (Equation 2)as shown by the top view of the window 176 in FIG. 3C.

Referring again to FIG. 2 , as previously mentioned, the solar elevationangle θ_(S) and the solar azimuth angle ϕ_(S) may define the position ofthe sun in the sky and may be functions of the position (e.g., thelongitude and latitude) of the building in which the space 170 islocated at the present date and time. The following equations may beused to approximate the solar elevation angle θ_(S) and the solarazimuth angle ϕ_(S). The equation of time may define the difference in atime as given by a sundial and a time as given by a clock. Thisdifference may be due to the obliquity of the Earth's axis of rotation.The equation of time may be approximated byE=9.87·sin(2B)−7.53·cos(B)−1.5·sin(B),  (Equation 3)where B=[360°·(N_(DAY)−81)]/364, and N_(DAY) is the present day-numberfor the year (e.g., N_(DAY) equals one for January 1, N_(DAY) equals twofor January 2, and so on).

The solar declination δ may be the angle of incidence of the rays of thesun on the equatorial plane of the Earth. If the eccentricity of Earth'sorbit around the sun is ignored and the orbit is assumed to be circular,the solar declination is given by:δ=23.45°·sin[360°/365·(N _(DAY)+284)].  (Equation 4)The solar hour angle H is the angle between the meridian plane and theplane formed by the Earth's axis and current location of the sun, i.e.,H(t)={¼·[t+E−(4·λ)+(60·t _(TZ))]}−180°,  (Equation 5)where t is the present local time of the day, λ is the local longitude,and t_(TZ) is the time zone difference (in unit of hours) between thelocal time t and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). For example, the time zonedifference t_(TZ) for the Eastern Standard Time (EST) zone is −5. Thetime zone difference t_(TZ) may be determined from the local longitude λand latitude ϕ of the building. For a given solar hour angle H, thelocal time can be determined by solving Equation 5 for the time t, whichmay be expressed in an equation, e.g.,t=720+4·(H+λ)−(60·t _(TZ))−E.  (Equation 6)When the solar hour angle H equals zero, the sun is at the highest pointin the sky, which may be referred to as “solar noon” time t_(SN), whichmay be expressed in an equation, e.g.,t _(SN)=720+(4·λ)−(60·t _(TZ))−E.  (Equation 7)A negative solar hour angle H may indicate that the sun is east of themeridian plane (e.g., morning), while a positive solar hour angle H mayindicate that the sun is west of the meridian plane (e.g., afternoon orevening).

The solar elevation angle θ_(S) as a function of the present local timet may be calculated using the equation:θ_(S)(t)=sin⁻¹[cos(H(t))·cos(δ)·cos(ϕ)+sin(δ)·sin(ϕ)],  (Equation 8)wherein ϕ is the local latitude where the building is located. The solarazimuth angle ϕ_(S) as a function of the present local time t may becalculated using the equation:ϕ_(S)(t)=180°·C(t)·cos⁻¹ [X(t)/cos(θ_(S)(t))],  (Equation 9)whereX(t)=[cos(H(t))·cos(δ)·sin(ϕ)−sin(δ)·cos(ϕ)],  (Equation 10)and C(t) equals negative one if the present local time t is less than orequal to the solar noon time t_(SN) or one if the present local time tis greater than the solar noon time t_(SN). The solar azimuth angleϕ_(S) may also, or alternatively, be expressed in terms independent ofthe solar elevation angle θ_(S), e.g.,ϕ_(S)(t)=tan⁻¹[−sin(H(t))cos(δ)/Y(t)],  (Equation 11)whereY(t)=[sin(δ)·cos(ϕ)−cos(δ)·sin(ϕ)·cos(H(t))].  (Equation 12)Thus, the solar elevation angle θ_(S) and the solar azimuth angle ϕ_(S)may be functions of the local longitude λ and latitude ϕ and the presentlocal time t and date (e.g., the present day-number N_(DAY)). UsingEquations 1 and 2, the sunlight penetration distance may be expressed interms of the height h_(WIN) 190 of the window 176, the height h_(WORK)188 of the table 178, the solar elevation angle θ_(S), and the solarazimuth angle ϕ_(S).

As previously mentioned, the system controller 110 may operate in thesunlight penetration limiting mode to control the motorized rollershades 140 to limit the sunlight penetration distance d_(PEN) 186 to beless than a desired maximum sunlight penetration distance d_(MAX). Forexample, the sunlight penetration distance d_(PEN) 186 may be limitedsuch that the sunlight does not shine directly on the table 178 toprevent sun glare on the table. The desired maximum sunlight penetrationdistance d_(MAX) may be entered using the GUI software of the personalcomputer 164 and may be stored in memory in the system controller 110.The user may use the GUI software of the personal computer 164 to enterthe present date and time, the present timezone, the local longitude λand latitude ϕ of the building, the façade angle ϕ_(F) for each façade174 of the building, the height h_(WIN) 190 of the windows 176 in spaces170 of the building, and the heights h_(WORK) 188 of the workspaces(e.g., tables 178) in the spaces of the building. These operationalcharacteristics (or a subset of these operational characteristics) maybe transmitted and stored in the memory of the system controller 110.The motorized roller shades 140 may be controlled such that distractionsto an occupant of the space 170 (e.g., due to movements of the motorizedroller shades) are minimized.

The system controllers 110 of the load control system 100 may generate atimeclock schedule defining the desired operation of the motorizedroller shades 140 for each of the façades 174 of the building to limitthe sunlight penetration distance d_(PEN) 186 in the space 170. Forexample, the system controller 110 may generate once each day atmidnight another timeclock schedule for limiting the sunlightpenetration distance d_(PEN) 186 in the space 170 for the next day. Thesystem controllers 110 are operable to calculate optimal shade positionsof the motorized roller shades 140 in response to the desired maximumsunlight penetration distance d_(MAX) at a plurality of times for thenext day. The system controllers 110 are operable to use the calculatedoptimal shade positions as well as a user-selected minimum time periodT_(MIN) between shade movements and/or a minimum number N_(MIN) of shademovements per day to generate the timeclock schedule for the next day.Examples of methods of controlling motorized window treatments tominimize sunlight penetration depth using timeclock schedules aredescribed in greater detail in previously-referenced U.S. Pat. No.8,288,981.

When the system controller 110 controls the motorized roller shades 140to the fully-open positions P_(FO) (e.g., when there is no directsunlight incident on the façade 174), the amount of daylight enteringthe space 170 may be unacceptable to a user of the space 170. The systemcontroller 110 may be operable to set the open-limit positions of themotorized roller shades 140 of one or more of the spaces 170 or façades174 of the building to a visor position P_(VISOR), which may be lowerthan or equal to the fully-open position P_(FO). The position of thevisor position P_(VISOR) may be entered using the GUI software of thepersonal computer 164. The visor position P_(VISOR) may be enabled anddisabled for each of the spaces 170 or façades 174 of the building usingthe GUI software of the personal computer 164. Since two adjacentwindows 176 of the building may have different heights, the visorpositions P_(VISOR) of the two windows may be programmed using the GUIsoftware, such that the hembars 184 of the shade fabrics 182 coveringthe adjacent window are aligned when the motorized roller shades 140 arecontrolled to the visor positions P_(VISOR).

In response to the RF signals 106 received from the window sensors 158,the system controllers 110 may be operable to disable the sunlightpenetration limiting mode (e.g., to stop controlling the motorizedroller shades 140 to limit the sunlight penetration distance d_(PEN)186) in the spaces in which the respective window sensors 158 arelocated. If the total light levels measured by one or more of the windowsensors 158 are below a dark-override threshold L_(TH-DK) (e.g.,approximately 300 foot candles (FC)) the system controllers 110 may beoperable to determine that cloudy conditions exist outside the buildingor a shadow is present on one or more of the façades 174. As a result,the system controllers 110 may determine a dark condition exists andoperate in a dark override mode to control one or more of the motorizedroller shades 140 to a dark override position P_(DK) (e.g., thefully-open position P_(FO)) in order to maximize the amount of naturallight entering the space 170 and to improve occupant comfort byproviding a better view out of the window 176. The system controller 110may make sure that the total light levels measured by the window sensors158 remain below the dark-override threshold L_(TH-DK) for the length ofa dark-override timeout period T_(DK-OV) (e.g., approximately 30minutes), before beginning to operate in the dark override mode.

If the total light levels measured by one or more of the window sensors158 are greater than or equal to the dark-override threshold L_(TH-DK),the system controllers 110 may be operable to determine that sunnyconditions exist on one or more of the façades 174, and to enable thesunlight penetration limiting mode to control the motorized rollershades 140 to limit the sunlight penetration distance d_(PEN) 186 in oneor more of the spaces 170 (e.g., to prevent sun glare on the table 178in the space 170). Examples of load control systems having cloudy-day(i.e., dark-override) thresholds are described in greater detail incommonly-assigned U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0156079,published Jun. 5, 2014, entitled METHOD OF CONTROLLING A MOTORIZEDWINDOW TREATMENT, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporatedby reference.

The system controllers 110 in spaces, such as space 170, may be operableto determine that sunny conditions exist on one or more of the façades174 and to operate in a bright override mode. For example, if the totallight levels measured by one or more of the window sensors 158 are abovea bright-override threshold L_(TH-BR) (e.g., approximately 5,000 FC),the system controllers 110 may recognize a bright condition and may beoperable to operate in the bright override mode to immediately controlone or more of the motorized roller shades 140 to the fully-closedpositions P_(FC) in order to prevent the natural light from entering thespace 170 and/or to improve occupant comfort by eliminating a potentialglare source. If the total light levels measured by one or more of thewindow sensors 158 are less than or equal to the bright-overridethreshold L_(TH-BR), the system controllers 110 may be operable toenable the sunlight penetration limiting mode to control the motorizedroller shades 140 to limit the sunlight penetration distance d_(PEN) 186in one or more of the spaces. Examples of load control systems havingbright-override thresholds are described in greater detail incommonly-assigned U.S. Provisional patent application Ser. No.14/459,896, filed Aug. 14, 2014, entitled WINDOW TREATMENT CONTROL USINGBRIGHT OVERRIDE, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporatedby reference.

The system controller may maintain the horizontally alignment of thebottom edges of the window treatment fabric (e.g., the hembars 184) ofthe motorized window treatments on a single façade of a building inorder to provide an attractive aesthetic appearance of the windowtreatment fabric of the motorized window treatments. As shown in FIG. 4, a system controller (e.g., the system controller 110 of the loadcontrol system 100 shown in FIG. 1 ) may control a plurality ofmotorized window treatments 240 (e.g., the motorized roller shades 140)located along a single façade 200 of a building together as a singleshade group 210. The motorized window treatments 240 may be configuredto operate in the single shade group 210 using the GUI configurationsoftware running on the personal computer 164, shown in FIG. 1 . Sincethe sun may be shining on or a shadow may be present on a portion of thefaçade 200, multiple window sensors 220, 222, 224 may be located atvarious locations along the façade. When the system controller isdetermining whether or not to lower the shades due to a bright condition(e.g., to enter the bright override mode), the system controller maycompare the highest light reading from the window sensors 220, 222, 224in the single shade group 210 to the bright-override threshold L_(TH-BR)to determine whether or not to close the motorized window treatments240. When the system controller is determining whether or not to raisethe shades due to a dark condition (e.g., to enter the dark overridemode), the system controller may determine if the light readings of thewindow sensors 220, 222, 224 in the single shade group 210 are below thedark-override threshold L_(TH-DK) for the length of the dark-overridetimeout period T_(DK-OV) before the controlling the motorized windowtreatments to the dark override position P_(DK).

The system controller may control the plurality of motorized windowtreatments 240 located in a same space type of a building together as asingle shade group 210. For example, may maintain the horizontallyalignment of the bottom edges of the window treatment fabric (e.g., thehembars 184) of the motorized window treatments within a same space typeor space types of a building. The space type may indicate the generaluse of an area, such as that a space is a functional area, a transitionarea, and/or a social area. The space type may also, or alternatively,indicate individual rooms, such as an office, a kitchen, a living room,a bedroom and/or the like. Examples of the functional area may includean office area, a conference room, a classroom, a patient room, afitness center, and/or other functional spaces. Transitional areas mayinclude corridors, vestibules, stairwells, and/or other transitionalspaces that may be passed through by a user for a short time. Socialareas may include lobbies, atriums, cafeterias, and/or other socialgathering areas.

The motorized window treatments 240 located in the same space type maybe grouped together and controlled according to one or more sensorreadings that may be representative of the motorized window treatments240 in the space type. For example, the system controller may receivesensor readings from one or more sensors in a sensor group for the spacetype. The group may be controlled according to a sensor reading that isrepresentative of the entire sensor group. For example, therepresentative sensor reading may include the sensor reading having thehighest light level in the sensor group.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are simplified flowcharts of example procedures that maybe executed by a system controller (e.g., the system controller 110 ofthe load control system 100 shown in FIG. 1 ) for controlling aplurality of motorized window treatments (e.g., the motorized rollershades 140 or the motorized window treatments 240) in response to aplurality of window sensors (e.g., the window sensors 220, 222, 224shown in FIG. 4 ) to maintain the horizontal alignment of the hembars ofthe motorized window treatments. FIG. 5A is a simplified flowchart of anexample control procedure 300, which may be executed by the systemcontroller in response to receiving a digital message including a sensorreading from one of the window sensors at 310. The system controller mayexecute the control procedure 300 for each façade (e.g., the singlefaçade 200 shown in FIG. 4 ) and/or each shade group of motorized rollershades (e.g., the single shade group 210 shown in FIG. 4 ) of thebuilding. After receiving the digital message including the sensorreading at 310, the system controller may store the sensor readingreceived in the digital messages in memory at 312. The system controllermay store one or more sensor readings received from each of the windowsensors in memory at 312. The system controller may determine thehighest L_(S-MAX) Of the sensor readings of each of the window sensorsfrom the shade group at 314. The shade group may include a group ofsensors and one or more corresponding shades that may be controlledaccording to the sensors in the sensor group. The system controller maycontrol the shade group based on the sensor reading determined at 314.Though the procedure 300 may control the shade group according to thehighest sensor reading from the sensor group, the procedure 300 may besimilarly implemented using another group sensor value that may berepresentative of the present sensor readings of the window sensors ineach sensor group.

If the system controller is not presently operating in the dark overridemode at 316 (e.g., the system controller is operating in the sunlightpenetration limiting mode or the bright override mode), the systemcontroller determines whether to begin to operate in the dark overridemode. Specifically, the system controller may determine if the highestsensor reading L_(S-MAX) (as determined at 314) is less than a darkoverride threshold L_(TH-DK) (e.g., if the most recent sensor readingsof the window sensors from the shade group are less than the darkoverride threshold L_(TH-DK)) at 318. The system controller may use adark override timer to determine when to enter the dark override mode.If the highest sensor reading L_(S-MAX) is less than the dark overridethreshold L_(TH-DK) at 318 and the dark override timer is not running at320, the system controller may reset the dark override timer and maystart the dark override timer at 322. The system controller may startthe dark override timer by decreasing the timer in value with respect totime. When the dark override timer expires, the system controller mayenter the dark override mode as discussed in greater detail herein. Ifthe highest sensor reading L_(S-MAX) is not less than the dark overridethreshold L_(TH-DK) at 318, the system controller may stop the darkoverride timer at 324. If the system controller is presently operatingin the dark override mode at 316 and the highest sensor readingL_(S-MAX) is greater than or equal to the dark override thresholdL_(TH-DK) at 326, the system controller may enter the sunlightpenetration limiting mode at 328.

The system controller may evaluate the bright override mode at 330. Ifthe system controller is not presently operating in the bright overridemode at 330 (e.g., the system controller is operating in the sunlightpenetration limiting mode or the dark override mode), the systemcontroller may determine whether to begin to operate in the brightoverride mode. Specifically, if the highest sensor reading L_(S-MAX) isgreater than a bright override threshold L_(TH-BR) at 332, the systemcontroller may enter the bright override mode at 334 and may close themotorized window treatments in the shade group at 336, before thecontrol procedure 300 exits at 342. If the highest sensor readingL_(S-MAX) of the shade group is not greater than the bright overridethreshold L_(TH-BR) at 332, the system controller may exit the controlprocedure 300 (e.g., without entering the bright override mode and/oradjusting the motorized window treatments) at 342. If the systemcontroller is presently operating in the bright override mode at 330 andthe highest sensor reading L_(S-MAX) is less than or equal to the brightoverride threshold L_(TH-BR) at 338, the system controller may enter thesunlight penetration limiting mode at 340. The control procedure 300 mayexit at 342.

FIG. 5B is a simplified flowchart of an example dark override timertimeout procedure 350, which may be executed by the system controller inresponse to the dark override timer reaching zero at 352. For example,the system controller may make sure that the total light levels measuredby the window sensors remain below the dark-override threshold L_(TH-DK)for the length of a dark-override timeout period T_(DK-OV) (e.g.,approximately 30 minutes), before beginning to operate in the darkoverride mode at 354. When the dark override timeout period expires at352, the system controller may enter the dark override mode at 354 andmay control the window treatments (e.g., the window treatments in asingle shade group) to the dark override position P_(DK) at 356, beforethe dark override timeout procedure 350 exits at 358.

A system controller may control the motorized window treatments on asingle façade to maintain the horizontal alignment of the bottom edgeswhen possible, and also control the motorized window treatments todifferent positions to prevent glare conditions on one portion of thefaçade while providing a view on another portion of the façade. Toprovide this level of control, as shown in FIG. 6 , a system controller(e.g., the system controller 110 of the load control system 100 shown inFIG. 1 ) may control a plurality of motorized window treatments 440,442, 444 (e.g., the motorized roller shades 140) located along a singlefaçade 400 of a building in multiple shade groups 410, 412, 414. Eachshade group 410, 412, 414 may include at least one respective windowsensor 420, 422, 424. The window sensors 420, 422, 424 may be locatedadjacent the motorized roller shades 440, 442, 444 of the respectiveshade groups 410, 412, 414. The shade groups 410, 412, 414 may be a partof a master group 430. The master group 430 may include the sensorsprogrammed to the same façade that may be divided up into subgroups. Themultiple shade groups 410, 412, 414 and the master group 430 may beconfigured using the GUI configuration software running on the personalcomputer 164 shown in FIG. 1 . The building may also include other shadegroups and master groups on other facades of the building.

The system controller may operate to keep the motorized windowtreatments 440, 442, 444 of the master group 430 aligned when the sensorreadings of the window sensors 420, 422, 424 are within a predefinedrange of one another (e.g., within 40% of each other), and may allow themotorized window treatments 440, 442, 444 of the various shade groups410, 412, 414 to move independently when the sensor readings are outsideof the predefined range from one another (e.g., outside of 40% of eachother). The shade groups 410, 412, 414 may be subgroups that may becontrolled according to the sensor reading of the respective windowsensors 420, 422, 424 in each shade group 410, 412, 414.

The shade groups 410, 412, 414 may be defined by the system controllerand the system controller may control the motorized window treatments440, 442, 444 of the multiple shade groups 410, 412, 414 according tothe defined shade groups 410, 412, 414. Each of the shade groups 410,412, 414 in the master group 430 may be limited to including a singlewindow sensor 420, 422, 424 or may include multiple window sensors. Thesystem controller may receive sensor readings from the multiple windowsensors in a single shade group 410, 412, 414 and may choose a groupsensor value that is representative of the sensor readings of the windowsensors in each group to control the shade group. For example, thesystem controller may choose the highest sensor reading in a sensorgroup as the group sensor value to be representative of the sensorreadings of that shade group 410, 412, 414.

The group sensor value for each shade group 410, 412, 414 may be used tocontrol the shade group. Each of the shade groups 410, 412, 414 in themaster group 430 may have the same operational settings (e.g., the samevalues of the bright override threshold L_(TH-BR), the dark overridethreshold L_(TH-DR), and/or the dark-override timeout period T_(DK-OV)).The master group 430 may include shade groups 410, 412, 414 havingmotorized window treatments oriented in the same direction (e.g., alonga single linear façade). The shade groups having motorized windowtreatments oriented in a different direction (e.g., along another linearfaçade) may be a part of another master group. Multiple master groupsmay be located on the same façade. Each of the individual shade groups410, 412, 414 may be limited to being part of a single master group 430(e.g., master groups may not overlap other master groups). Each of theindividual shade groups 410, 412, 414 may be controlled by automatedcontrol of the motorized window treatments 440, 442, 444 or a manualoverride of the motorized window treatments 440, 442, 444. One of theshade groups 410, 412, 414 in the master group 430 may be manuallyoverridden without affecting the automated control of motorized windowtreatments 440, 442, 444 in one or more of the other shade groups 410,412, 414 of the master group 430.

When the system controller is determining whether or not to lower theshades due to a bright condition (e.g., to enter the bright overridemode), the system controller may control the motorized window treatments440, 442, 444 in response to receiving a sensor reading from any of thewindow sensors 420, 422, 424 of the master group 430 that rises abovethe bright override threshold L_(TH-BR). The sensor reading that is usedby the system controller to control the motorized window treatment maybe the first sensor reading of a group of sensors that rise above thebright override threshold L_(TH-BR) to provide responsive control of themotorized window treatments 440, 442, 444. Specifically, in response toreceiving a sensor reading that rises above the bright overridethreshold L_(TH-BR), the system controller may close the motorizedwindow treatments 440, 442, 444 of each of the shade groups 410, 412,414 having window sensors 420, 422, 424 reporting sensor readings withina predetermined amount Δ_(L) of the sensor reading that rose above thebright override threshold L_(TH-BR). The predetermined amount Δ_(L) maybe sized to minimize and/or eliminate cognitive dissonance in themovements of the motorized window treatments 440, 442, 444. Thepredetermined amount Δ_(L) may be in the range of, for example,approximately 20% to approximately 50%. For example, the predeterminedamount Δ_(L) may be approximately 40%, which may be approximately twicethe amount by which the light intensity measured by each window sensor420, 422, 424 may change before the window sensor transmits anotherdigital message including the measured light intensity.

One or more of the shade groups 410, 412, 414 may operate independent ofthe other shade groups. In an example, each of the shade groups 410,412, 414 may be in the dark override mode and the bright overridethreshold L_(TH-BR) may be 5,000 foot-candles (FC). If the sensorreading of window sensor 420 increased to 5,001 FC, the most recentsensor reading of the window sensor 422 was 5,025 FC, and the mostrecent sensor reading of the window sensor 424 was 178 FC, the motorizedwindow treatments 440, 442 of the shade groups 410, 412 may close (e.g.,in the bright override mode), and the motorized window treatments 444 ofthe shade group 414 may remain in the dark override mode.

When the system controller is determining whether or not to raise theshades due to a dark condition (e.g., to enter the dark override mode),the system controller may monitor the sensor readings of each of thewindow sensors 420, 422, 424, and may use a separate dark override timerfor each of the shade groups 410, 412, 414 to determine when to open themotorized window treatments 440, 442, 444 of the respective shade groups410, 412, 414. The system controller may raise the motorized windowtreatments 440, 442, 444 to the dark override position P_(DK) (e.g.,into the dark override mode) when the most recent sensor readings ofeach of the window sensors 420, 422, 424 of the master group 430 arebelow the dark override threshold L_(TH-DK), or when at least one of thesensor readings is below the dark override threshold L_(TH-DK) and oneor more of the other sensor readings are more than the predeterminedamount Δ_(L) from the at least one sensor reading below the darkoverride threshold L_(TH-DK) (e.g., greater than 40% higher). The darkoverride timer of one of the shade groups 410, 412, 414 may be stoppedif the sensor reading of the window sensor 420, 422, 424 of anothershade group is above the dark override threshold L_(TH-DK), and fallswithin the predetermined amount Δ_(L) (e.g., 40%) of the sensor readingof the window sensor 420, 422, 424 of the shade group that is below thedark override threshold L_(TH-DK).

Each of the shade groups 410, 412, 414 may operate in accordance withthe other shade groups. In an example, each of the shade groups 410,412, 414 may be in the sunlight penetration limiting mode and the darkoverride threshold L_(TH-DK) may be 300 FC. If the sensor reading ofwindow sensor 420 decreased to 290 FC, the most recent sensor reading ofthe window sensor 422 was 320 FC, and the most recent sensor reading ofthe window sensor 424 was 307 FC, the system controller may not startthe dark override timer for the shade group 410. The shade group 410 maybe “locked” in the sunlight penetration limiting mode by the windowsensors 422, 424 of the other shade groups 412, 414.

In another example, each of the shade groups 410, 412, 414 may be in thesunlight penetration limiting mode and the dark override thresholdL_(TH-DK) may be 300 FC. If the sensor reading of window sensor 420decreased to 183 FC, the sensor reading of the window sensor 422decreased to 192 FC, and the most recent sensor reading of the windowsensor 424 was 301 FC, the system controller may start the dark overridetimers for the first and second shade groups 410, 412 since the sensorreadings of the window sensors 420, 422 are below the dark overridethreshold L_(TH-DK), but the sensor reading of the third window sensor424 is more than the predetermined amount Δ_(L) (e.g., 40%) higher thanthe sensor readings of the window sensors 420, 422. If there are noadditional light level changes for the duration of the dark-overridetimeout period T_(DK-OV), the system controller may control the shadegroups 410, 412 into the dark override mode, such that the motorizedwindow treatments 440, 442 of the shade groups 410, 412 may move to darkoverride position P_(DK), while the motorized window treatments 444 ofthe shade group 414 may stay at the same positions.

In another example, each of the shade groups 410, 412, 414 may be in thesunlight penetration limiting mode, the dark override thresholdL_(TH-DK) may be 300 FC, and the dark-override timeout period T_(DK-OV)may be 30 minutes. If the sensor reading of window sensor 420 decreasedto 290 FC, the sensor reading of window sensor 422 decreased to 285 FC,and the sensor reading of third window sensor 424 decreased to 292 FC atapproximately the same time (e.g., simultaneously), the systemcontroller may start the dark override timers for each of the shadegroups 410, 412, 414, as each of the shade groups are below the darkoverride threshold L_(TH-DK). If the sensor reading of the window sensor422 increases to 306 before the expiration of the dark override timers,the dark override timers for each of the shade groups 410, 412, 414 ofthe master group 430 may be stopped before entering the dark overridemode.

FIG. 7 is a simplified flowchart of an example control procedure 500that may be executed by a system controller (e.g., the system controller110 of the load control system 100 shown in FIG. 1 ) for controlling aplurality of motorized window treatments (e.g., the motorized rollershades 140 or the motorized window treatments 440) in response to aplurality of window sensors (e.g., the window sensors 420, 422, 424shown in FIG. 6 ). The control procedure 500 may be executed by thesystem controller in response to receiving a digital message including asensor reading from one of the window sensors at 510. The systemcontroller may execute the control procedure 500 for each façade (e.g.,the single façade 400 shown in FIG. 6 ) and/or each shade group ofmotorized roller shades (e.g., each of the shade groups 410, 412, 414shown in FIG. 6 ) of the building. After receiving the digital messageincluding the sensor reading at 510, the system controller may store thesensor reading received in the digital messages in memory at 512. Thesystem controller may store at least the two recent different sensorreadings (e.g., the last two different sensor readings) received fromeach of the window sensors in memory, such that the system controllermay determine a present trend of the sensor readings of a window sensor.For example, the system controller may determine from at least the tworecent different transmitted sensor readings (e.g., the last twodifferent sensor readings) whether the sensor readings are increasing ordecreasing. The different sensor readings may be consecutive sensorreadings or may be spaced apart a number of sensor readings.

The system controller may dynamically group the window sensors into oneor more sensor groups (e.g., subgroups) at 514. The grouping at 514 maybe a dynamic regrouping of the window sensors, where the window sensorswere previously assigned a group, or the grouping at 514 may be aninitial grouping by the system controller. The system controller maygroup window sensors into groups where the sensor readings are withinthe predetermined amount Δ_(L) (e.g., 40%) of each other at 514. Forexample, the system controller may determine the highest sensor readingof the window sensors in the master group and may include each windowsensor within the predetermined amount Δ_(L) of the highest sensorreading in a first group. The system controller may determine thehighest sensor reading of the remaining window sensors for creating anext group of sensors (e.g., a highest sensor reading outside of thepreviously created group). The system controller may include the windowsensors within the predetermined amount Δ_(L) of this highest sensorreading outside of the previously created group into a second group. Thesystem controller may continue this process until each of the windowsensors in a master group are included in a subgroup. The systemcontroller may determine which motorized window treatments to controltogether based upon the window sensors in each sensor group and therelationship between the shade groups and the window sensors.

The system controller may step through the shade subgroups and analyzesensor readings of the sensor subgroup in which a shade group isincluded to determine how to control the motorized window treatments. At516, the system controller may determine the group sensor value that maybe representative of the sensor readings of the window sensors thesubgroup to control the shade group. The group sensor value may be thehighest one of the last sensor readings from the sensor group in which aselected one of the shade groups is included, but another representativegroup sensor value may also be selected. Referring to the shade groupsof FIG. 4 as an example, the system controller may determine the highestone L_(S-MAX) of the most recent sensor readings from the sensor groupin which the shade group 410 is included. Referring again to FIG. 5 ,the system controller may compare the most recent sensor readings fromthe sensor group with at least one of the previously different sensorreading for the group to determine whether the trend for the sensorreadings is increasing or decreasing at 518.

If the trend of the sensor readings of the window sensor from which thedigital message was received is determined to be decreasing at 518, thesystem controller may determine if it should begin to operate in thedark override mode. For example, if the highest sensor reading L_(S-MAX)(as determined at 516) is less than the dark override thresholdL_(TH-DK) at 520 and the dark override timer for the present shade groupis not running at 522, the system controller may reset the dark overridetimer for the present shade group and may start the dark override timer,for example, decreasing in value with respect to time, at 524. When thedark override timer expires, the system controller may enter the darkoverride mode for the shade group (e.g., with a similar procedure as thedark override timer timeout procedure 350 shown in FIG. 5B). Forexample, the system controller may enter the dark override mode when thedark override timer expires and the highest sensor reading L_(S-MAX)remains less than the dark override threshold L_(TH-DK) for the durationof the dark override timer. If the highest sensor reading L_(S-MAX) isnot less than the dark override threshold L_(TH-DK) at 520, the systemcontroller may stop the dark override timer for the present shade groupat 526 when the dark override timer is running. If the highest sensorreading L_(S-MAX) (as determined at 516) is less than the dark overridethreshold L_(TH-DK) at 520 and the dark override timer for the presentshade group is running at 522, the system controller may allow the darkoverride timer to continue to run for the shade group. The systemcontroller may determine whether there are more shade groups to analyzeat 532. If there are more shade groups to analyze at 532, the controlprocedure 500 may return to 516 to determine the group sensor value(e.g., highest one L_(S-MAX) of the last sensor readings from the sensorgroup in which the next shade group is included) and to control theshade group according to the group sensor value. The system controllermay determine there are other shade groups to analyze when another shadegroup has a sensor reading that has changed. Otherwise, the controlprocedure 500 may exit at 534.

If the trend of the sensor readings of the window sensor from which thedigital message was received is determined to be increasing at 518, thesystem controller may determine whether to enter the sunlightpenetration limiting mode for the sensor group. If the system controllerdetermines that the highest sensor reading L_(S-MAX) for the sensorgroup is greater than or equal to the dark override threshold L_(TH-DK)at 528, the system controller may enter the sunlight penetrationlimiting mode at 530. If the system controller determines that thehighest sensor reading L_(S-MAX) for the sensor group is less than thedark override threshold L_(TH-DK) at 528, the system controller maycontinue to 532. If there are more shade groups to analyze at 532, thecontrol procedure 500 may return to 516. Otherwise, the controlprocedure 500 may exit at 534. The control procedure 500 may alsoinclude steps for controlling one or more of the shade groups into thebright override mode (e.g., as in the control procedure 300 of FIG. 5A).

FIG. 8 shows a simplified flowchart of an example procedure 600 that maybe executed by a system controller (e.g., the system controller 110 ofthe load control system 100 shown in FIG. 1 ) for performing dynamicwindow sensor grouping (e.g., the dynamic grouping of the window at 514shown in FIG. 7 ). As shown in FIG. 8 , the system controller may enterthe procedure 600 at 602. At 604, the system controller may dismiss thecurrent subgroups. For example, the system controller may delete orignore the previously stored subgroups to create another set ofsubgroups from the master group.

To create subgroups, the system controller may determine the subgroupsbased on the master group maximum sensor light level identified in thesensor reading for the sensors in the master group. For example, thesystem controller may initialize a master group maximum sensor lightlevel to zero at 606. The master group maximum sensor light level may bea maximum sensor light level against which the sensor light level of thesensors in the master group may be measured to determine the maximumvalue. The master group may include the sensors programmed to the samefaçade that may be divided up into subgroups. The system controller maydetermine whether there are ungrouped sensors to be processed in themaster group at 608 for determining the maximum sensor light level ofthe sensors in the master group. The ungrouped sensors in the mastergroup may each be processed to determine the maximum sensor light levelfor the sensors in the master group. For example, if there are ungroupedsensors in the master group that have not been processed to determine iftheir sensor light level is greater than the current master groupmaximum sensor light level, the system controller may proceed to 610 tocompare the current sensor light level with the master group maximumsensor light level. If the current sensor light level is not greaterthan the master group maximum sensor light level, the procedure 600 mayreturn to 608. If the current sensor light level is greater than themaster group maximum sensor light level, the master group maximum sensorlight level may be updated with the current sensor light level at 612.

When the system controller determines that there are no more ungroupedsensors to process for determining the master group maximum sensor lightlevel, the procedure 600 may save the master group maximum sensor lightlevel at 614. The system controller may use the master group maximumsensor light level to create subgroups within the master group. Forexample, at 616, the system controller may create a subgroup. Thesubgroup may be created by generating a name or other identifier of thesubgroup. The system controller may begin processing the ungroupedsensors (e.g., sensors without a subgroup) in the master group at 618.To process the ungrouped sensors in the master group, the systemcontroller may identify the sensor light levels for the ungroupedsensors. At 620, the system controller may determine whether there areungrouped sensors to process in the master group. If the systemcontroller determines that there are ungrouped sensors in the mastergroup, the system controller may select a sensor light level of anungrouped sensor (e.g., that has not already been analyzed to determinewhether the sensor light level is within the predetermined amount of themaster group maximum sensor light level) and may analyze the sensorlight level to determine whether the sensor light level is within thepredetermined amount of the master group maximum sensor light level at624. If the sensor light level is not within the predetermined amount ofthe master group maximum sensor light level, the sensor light level maybe flagged as already being analyzed and the procedure 600 may return to620. If the sensor light level is determined to be within thepredetermined amount of the master group maximum sensor light level at624, the sensor from which the sensor light level is received may beadded to the sensor subgroup with the sensor having the sensor lightlevel that is set as the master group maximum sensor light level. Thesensor that is added to the subgroup at 626 may be removed from theungrouped list at 628. The procedure 600 may return to 620 to continueto analyze sensors that have not been flagged or added to a subgroup.

If there are no more ungrouped sensors to process in the master group at620 (e.g., the sensors in the master group are flagged or added to asubgroup), the system controller may determine whether there are anyungrouped sensors remaining. If the sensors in the master group are eachadded to a subgroup, then the procedure 600 may end at 630. If there areungrouped sensors remaining at 622, the system controller may return to606 to initialize the master group maximum sensor light level to zeroand continue the procedure 600 with the ungrouped sensors that remain inthe master group.

FIGS. 9A-9C show a simplified flowchart of an example procedure 700 thatmay be executed by a system controller (e.g., the system controller 110of the load control system 100 shown in FIG. 1 ) for controlling aplurality of motorized window treatments (e.g., the motorized rollershades 140 or the motorized window treatments 440) in response to aplurality of window sensors (e.g., the window sensors 420, 422, 424shown in FIG. 6 ). The system controller may execute one or moreportions of the procedure 700 to determine a sensor state and/or controlone or more shade groups according to the sensor state. The controlprocedure 700 may be executed by the system controller in response toreceiving a digital message including a sensor reading from one or moreof the window sensors at 710. If the current sensor reading is the sameas the previously stored sensor reading from that sensor at 712, thecontrol procedure 700 may exit at 728. If the current sensor reading isdifferent from the previously stored sensor reading from that sensor at712, the system controller may determine the sensor state for the sensorat 714. For example, the system controller may determine the trend ofthe sensor readings (e.g., whether the sensor readings are increasing ordecreasing) for the sensor. The system controller may store in memorythe current sensor reading, along with the previous sensor reading, andthe sensor state (e.g., the trend of the sensor readings) for eachsensor at 716. The sensor readings may be received at 710 and the sensorstate may be determined at 714 and/or stored at 716 for each sensor in amaster group that has a change in the sensor readings determined at 712.

At 718, the system controller may determine real-time sensor grouping(e.g., as in 514 of the control procedure 500 shown in FIG. 7 and/or thecontrol procedure 600 shown in FIG. 8 ) for the master group. Forexample, the system controller may group window sensors into sensorgroups (e.g., subgroups) where the sensor readings are within apredetermined amount Δ_(L) (e.g., 40%) of each other. The systemcontroller may determine whether there are more shade groups to processat 720 for controlling according to the dark override mode at 726 or thesunlight penetration limiting mode at 724. The system controller mayre-evaluate the operational mode for each shade group on each façadethat results from the real-time sensor grouping at 718 in case thesensor reading from 710 causes a change in the operational mode (e.g., asensor that was holding a sensor group in an operational mode may haveleft the sensor group at 718). In this case, the system controller mayiterate through each shade group at 720 until each of the shade groupshave been re-evaluated. In another example, the system controller maydetermine at 720 to evaluate the shade groups from the sensor group fromwhich the window sensor that transmitted the digital message wasreceived at 710 and may update its operational mode without determiningto process the other shade groups at 720. If there are no shade groupsto process at 720, the control procedure 700 may exit at 728.

If there are shade groups to process at 720, the system controller maydetermine whether to perform a sunlight penetration limiting modeevaluation procedure at 724 or a dark override mode evaluation procedureat 726. For example, if there are more shade groups to process at 720,the system controller may retrieve the previously transmitted sensorstate for the shade group and may compare the current sensor state tothe previously transmitted sensor state. If the current sensor state forthe shade group being processed is determined to be increasing at 722,the system controller may execute a sunlight penetration limiting modeevaluation procedure for the shade group at 724 (e.g., as shown in FIG.9B). The system controller may execute a sunlight penetration limitingmode evaluation procedure at 724 and may return to 720 to determine ifthere are more shade groups to process. If the current sensor state forthe shade group is determined to be decreasing at 722, the systemcontroller may execute a dark override mode evaluation procedure for theshade group at 726 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 9C). The system controllermay execute a dark override mode evaluation procedure at 726 and mayreturn to 720 to determine if there are more shade groups to process.

FIG. 9B shows a simplified flowchart of an example procedure 730 thatmay be executed by a system controller (e.g., the system controller 110of the load control system 100 shown in FIG. 1 ) for evaluating thesunlight penetration limiting mode. As shown in FIG. 9B, the procedure730 may be entered at 732. The system controller may identify thesensors in each subgroup of the master group that have lighting levelsthat are increasing and may determine the subgroup maximum sensor lightlevel. For example, the system controller may initialize the subgroupmaximum sensor light level to zero at 732. The subgroup maximum sensorlight level may be the group sensor value that is representative of thesensor readings for the subgroup. At 734, the system controller maydetermine whether there are sensors to process in the master group forupdating the group sensor value for a subgroup. The system controllermay process each of the sensors in the subgroup to determine whether toupdate the group sensor value for a subgroup. If the system controllerdetermines that there are more sensors to process at 734, the systemcontroller may determine whether the current sensor of the master groupis in an identified shade group's sensor subgroup at 736 for beingprocessed. The system controller may determine, at 738, whether thecurrent sensor has an increasing light level. If the system controllerdetermines that the current sensor is in an identified shade group'ssensor subgroup at 736 for being processed and the current sensor'slight level is increasing at 738, the system controller may determinewhether the current sensor light level is greater than the subgroupmaximum sensor light level at 740. If the current sensor's light levelis determined to be greater than the subgroup maximum sensor light levelat 740, the system controller may update the subgroup maximum sensorlight level for the subgroup to the current sensor's light level at 744.

The system controller may return to 734 to determine whether there areother sensors in the master group to process for updating a subgroupmaximum sensor light level for an identified subgroup. If the systemcontroller determines that the current sensor being processed is not inthe identified shade group's sensor subgroup at 736, the current sensorlight level is not increasing at 738, and/or the current sensor lightlevel is not greater than the subgroup maximum sensor light level, thesystem controller may return to 734 to determine whether there are othersensors in the master group to process. The system controller maydetermine that the current sensor's light level is increasing at 738 toprevent sensors that have light levels that may be decreasing, but areabove the brightness threshold, from causing the sensor groups that werepreviously in dark override mode to exit dark override mode.

The system controller may determine at 734 that there are no moresensors in the master group to process for determining whether to updatethe subgroup maximum sensor light level and may proceed to use thesubgroup maximum sensor light level to control the shade group. Forexample, the system controller may determine how to control the shadelevels of a shade group based on the subgroup maximum sensor lightlevel. At 746, the system controller may determine whether there are oneor more sensors in the identified shade group's sensor subgroup have anincreasing light level. If one or more of the sensors in the identifiedsensor subgroup are determined not to have an increasing light level at746, the procedure 730 may finish at 760.

If one or more of the sensors in the identified sensor subgroup aredetermined to have an increasing light level at 746, the systemcontroller may determine if the subgroup maximum sensor light level isgreater than a dark override threshold, plus a dark override hysteresisvalue, at 748. The dark override hysteresis value may indicate athreshold amount that the intensity the daylight may rise above the darkoverride threshold before the automated control of the motorized windowtreatment may return to the automated control state or otherwise leavethe dark override state. The dark override hysteresis may be set to zeroor a null value if the dark override hysteresis is not implemented. Ifthe system controller determines, at 748, that the subgroup maximumsensor light level is greater than a dark override threshold, plus adark override hysteresis value, the system controller may determinewhether the shade group for the current sensor is in dark override at750. If the shade group for the current sensor is in dark override, thesystem controller may enter the sunlight penetration mode at 752. If thesystem controller determines, at 748, that the subgroup maximum sensorlight level is not greater than a dark override threshold, plus a darkoverride hysteresis value, the system controller may determine whetherthe subgroup maximum sensor light level is above the dark overridethreshold at 754. If the system controller determines, at 754, that thesubgroup maximum sensor light level is above the dark overridethreshold, the system controller may determine that the dark overridetimer running for the shade group at 756 and may cancel the shadegroup's dark override timer at 758. The system controller may return to746 to evaluate other shade groups. If the system controller determinesthat the subgroup maximum sensor light level is not above the darkoverride threshold at 754 or that the dark override timer is not runningfor the shade group at 756, the system controller may return to 746 toevaluate other shade groups.

The procedure 730 may be run for each sensor subgroup. The systemcontroller may perform the procedure 730 for each sensor subgroup thathas a sensor that has a sensor reading that has changed, or that haschanged by a predefined threshold.

FIG. 9C shows a simplified flowchart of an example procedure 770 thatmay be executed by a system controller (e.g., the system controller 110of the load control system 100 shown in FIG. 1 ) for evaluating the darkoverride mode. As shown in FIG. 9C, the procedure 770 may be entered at772. The system controller may determine the subgroup maximum sensorlight level for each subgroup of sensors for shade groups. For example,the system controller may initialize the subgroup maximum sensor lightlevel to zero at 774. The subgroup maximum sensor light level may be thesubgroup sensor value that is representative of the sensor readings forthe subgroup, but another subgroup sensor value may be similarly used.At 776, the system controller may determine whether there are sensors toprocess in the master group. Each sensor in the master group may beprocessed when a sensor subgroup changes, for example. If the systemcontroller determines that there are sensors to process at 776, thesystem controller may determine whether the current sensor of the mastergroup is in an identified shade group's sensor subgroup at 778 for beingprocessed. If the system controller determines that the current sensoris in an identified shade group's sensor subgroup at 778 for beingprocessed, the system controller may determine whether the currentsensor light level is greater than the subgroup maximum sensor lightlevel at 780. If the current sensor's light level is determined to begreater than the subgroup maximum sensor light level at 780, the systemcontroller may update the subgroup maximum sensor light level for thesubgroup to the current sensor's light level at 782.

The system controller may return to 776 to determine whether there areother sensors in the master group to process. Additionally, if thesystem controller determines that the current sensor is not in theidentified shade group's sensor subgroup at 778 and/or the currentsensor light level is not greater than the subgroup maximum sensor lightlevel at 780, the system controller may return to 774 to determinewhether there are other sensors in the master group to process.

The system controller may determine at 734 that there are no moresensors in the master group to process for determining whether to updatethe subgroup maximum sensor light level and may proceed to use thesubgroup maximum sensor light level to determine how the subgroupmaximum sensor light level affects a shade group. For example, thesystem controller may determine how to control the shade levels of ashade group based on the subgroup maximum sensor light level. At 784,the system controller may determine whether each subgroup maximum sensorlight level is below the dark threshold. If a subgroup maximum sensorlight level is below the dark threshold, the system controller maydetermine, at 786, whether each shade group controlled by the subgroupmaximum sensor light level is in a dark override mode or has a darkoverride timer currently running. If the shade group controlled by thesubgroup maximum sensor light level is not in a dark override mode anddoes not have a dark override timer currently running, the systemcontroller may begin a dark override timer for the shade group at 788and the procedure 770 may end for that shade group at 794. If the systemcontroller determines, at 786, that each shade group controlled by thesubgroup maximum sensor light level is in a dark override mode or has adark override timer currently running, the procedure 770 may end at 794.

If, at 784, the system controller determines a subgroup maximum sensorlight level is not below the dark threshold, the system controller maydetermine whether the dark override timer is running for each shadegroup controlled according to the subgroup maximum sensor light level at790. If not, the system controller may end the procedure 770 at 794. Ifthe system controller determines that the dark override timer is runningfor a shade group controlled according to the subgroup maximum sensorlight level at 790, the system controller may cancel the dark overridetimer for the shade group at 792 and may end at 794.

FIGS. 10A-10E illustrate an example motorized window treatment system800 for controlling a plurality of motorized window treatments (e.g.,the motorized window treatments 440, 442, 444 arranged along the singlefaçade 400 as shown in FIG. 6 ) at different periods of time in order tomaintain the horizontal alignment of the hembars of the motorized windowtreatments. The hembars may be aligned when the sensor readings for eachsubgroup are within a predetermined amount of one another.

As shown in FIG. 10A, the motorized window treatment system 800 mayinclude shade groups 802, 804, 806. The shade groups 802, 804, 806 mayeach include one or more motorized window treatments for controlling oneor more respective shades. The motorized window treatments of the shadegroups 802, 804, 806 may be controlled by one or more systemcontrollers, such as system controller 810. The system controller 810may receive sensor readings from respective window sensors for each ofthe shade groups 802, 804, 806 that indicate a sensed light level forcontrolling each of the shade groups 802, 804, 806. The respectivewindow sensors for each of the shade groups 802, 804, 806 may includeone or more window sensors. The system controller may identify asubgroup sensor value to be representative of the sensor readings ofeach of the shade groups 802, 804, 806 within the same subgroup. Forexample, the subgroup sensor value may be the subgroup maximum sensorlight level for the subgroup at a given time. The subgroup sensor valuemay be the group sensor value for an identified subgroup of a mastergroup.

As shown in FIG. 10A, the system controller 810 may receive a sensorreading for shade groups 802, 804, 806 at a time T1 that may identify asensed light level of 305 FC, 290 FC, and 290 FC for each of therespective shade groups 802, 804, 806. The system controller 810 maycontrol the shade groups 802, 804, 806 according to a dark overridethreshold L_(TH-DK) of 300 FC. The system controller 810 may includeeach of the shade groups 802, 804, 806 in the same subgroup, as thesensor readings for each shade group 802, 804, 806 may be within apredefined range of one another, which may be forty percent for example.The system controller 810 may control the shade groups 802, 804, 806according to the same subgroup sensor value. The subgroup sensor valuemay be the sensor reading (e.g., daylight level) of shade group 802,which may be the sensor light level of 305 FC. As the subgroup sensorvalue is above the dark override threshold L_(TH-DK) of 300 FC, each ofthe shade groups 802, 804, 806 in the subgroup may be controlledaccording to the sunlight penetration limiting mode. The shade groups804, 806 may be controlled according to the sunlight penetrationlimiting mode even though the sensor reading for the shade groups 804,806 may indicate a sensed light level of 290 FC, which may be below thedark override threshold L_(TH-DK) of 300 FC.

The system controller 810 may receive an updated sensor reading forshade group 802 at time T2. The updated sensor reading for shade group802 may be 4000 FC. As the updated sensor reading for shade group 802may be outside of the predefined range of the sensor readings for theother shade groups 804, 806 (e.g., forty percent), the shade group 802may be included in another subgroup and may be controlled according tothe other subgroup. Though the shade group 802 may exit the subgroup ofshade groups 804, 806, the sensor reading of shade group 802 at time T1(e.g., 305 FC) may continue to be the subgroup sensor value according towhich the shade groups 804, 806 are controlled. For example, even thoughshade groups 804, 806 may have a sensor light level that is below thedark override threshold L_(TH-DK) of 300 FC, the system controller 810may refrain from starting the dark override timer as the shade groups804, 806 may be controlled according to the subgroup sensor value of 305FC. This subgroup sensor value may continue to control the shade groups804, 806 that remain in the subgroup, as the sensor light level for theshade groups 804, 806 remain unchanged. Changing the subgroup sensorvalue for the shade groups 804, 806 that remain in the subgroup when thesensed light level for the shade groups 804, 806 remains unchanged maybe distracting or confusing to occupants. The system controller 810 mayreconfigure the subgroup sensor value for the shade groups 804, 806 thatremain in the subgroup upon receiving an updated sensor reading for atleast one of the shade groups 804, 806.

FIG. 10B shows an example of how the system controller 810 may control asubgroup when the shade group 802 enters the subgroup. As shown in FIG.10B, the shade group 802 may be included in a different subgroup thanshade groups 804, 806 at time T1. The shade group 802 may be in adifferent subgroup because the sensor reading for shade group 802 mayindicate a light level (e.g., 3000 FC) that is outside of the predefinedrange (e.g., forty percent) of the light levels for the sensor readingsof the subgroup in which the shade groups 804, 806 are controlled.

The subgroup sensor value according to which the shade groups 804, 806may be controlled may be 290 FC, which may be below the dark overridethreshold L_(TH-DK) of 300 FC. As the subgroup sensor value according towhich the shade groups 804, 806 are controlled is below the darkoverride threshold L_(TH-DK), the shade groups 804, 806 may be in thedark override mode at time T1. The shade group 802 may be in thesunlight penetration limiting mode at time T1, as the subgroup sensorvalue according to which the shade group 802 may be controlled may be3000 FC, which may be above the dark override threshold L_(TH-DK) of 300FC and a dark override hysteresis.

At time T2, the system controller 810 may receive an updated sensorreading from the sensor for the shade group 802. The updated sensorreading from the sensor for the shade group 802 may indicate a lightlevel (e.g., 305 FC) that is within the predefined range (e.g., fortypercent) of the light levels for the subgroup in which the shade groups804, 806 are controlled and the system controller 810 may include theshade group 802 in the same subgroup as the shade groups 804, 806. Whenthe shade group 802 joins the subgroup of the shade groups 804, 806, thesubgroup may continue to be controlled according to the same subgroupsensor value (e.g., 290 FC). The system controller 810 may update thesubgroup sensor value using the sensor light levels of the shade groups802, 804, 806 when an updated sensor light level of one of the shadegroups 804, 806 that were members of the subgroup at time T1 is receivedat the system controller 810.

The system controller 810 may start the dark override timer for theshade group 802 when the shade group joins the subgroup of the shadegroups 804, 806 for putting the shade group 802 in the dark overridemode, even though the sensor reading for the shade group 802 may beabove the dark override threshold L_(TH-DK) and the dark overridehysteresis. The system controller 810 may control the shade group 802according to the existing subgroup sensor value (e.g., 290 FC) when theshade group 802 joins the subgroup of the shade groups 804, 806, becausethe sensor light level for the shade groups 804, 806 have goneunchanged. Since the sensor light level for the shade group 802 haschanged and is closer to the existing subgroup sensor value (e.g., 290FC) according to which the shade groups 804, 806 are being controlled,the system controller 810 may control the shade group 802 according tothe existing subgroup configuration.

FIG. 10C shows another example of how the system controller 810 maycontrol a subgroup when the shade group 802 enters the subgroup. Asshown in FIG. 10C, the shade group 802 may be included in a differentsubgroup than shade groups 804, 806 at time T1. The shade group 802 maybe in a different subgroup because the sensor reading for shade group802 may indicate a light level (e.g., 3000 FC) that is outside of thepredefined range (e.g., forty percent) of the light levels for thesubgroup in which the shade groups 804, 806 are controlled.

The subgroup sensor value according to which the shade groups 804, 806may be controlled may be 290 FC, which may be below the dark overridethreshold L_(TH-DK) of 300 FC. As the subgroup sensor value according towhich the shade groups 804, 806 are controlled is below the darkoverride threshold L_(TH-DK), the system controller 810 may start a darkoverride timer for shade groups 804, 806 at time T1, while the shadegroups 804, 806 may be in the sunlight penetration limiting mode. Theshade group 802 may be in the sunlight penetration limiting mode at timeT1, as the subgroup sensor value according to which the shade group 802may be controlled may be 3000 FC, which may be above the dark overridethreshold L_(TH-DK) of 300 FC and a dark override hysteresis.

At time T2, the system controller 810 may receive an updated sensorreading from the sensor for the shade group 802. The updated sensorreading from the sensor for the shade group 802 may indicate a lightlevel (e.g., 305 FC) that is within the predefined range (e.g., fortypercent) of the light levels for the subgroup in which the shade groups804, 806 are controlled and the system controller 810 may include theshade group 802 in the same subgroup as the shade groups 804, 806. Whenthe shade group 802 joins the subgroup of the shade groups 804, 806, thesystem controller 810 may identify that a dark override timer has beenstarted for the shade groups 804, 806, but the shade groups 804, 806have not yet entered the dark override mode at time T2. Because theshade groups 804, 806 have not yet entered the dark override mode attime T2 and the dark override timer is counting, the system controller810 may update the subgroup sensor value for the subgroup. The subgroupsensor value may be updated at time T2 to the sensor light level forshade group 802 (e.g., 305 FC). The subgroup sensor value for thesubgroup of shade groups 802, 804, 806 may be updated to above the darkoverride threshold L_(TH-DK) and the dark override hysteresis, which maycause the system controller 810 to cancel the dark override timer forshade groups 804, 806. The shade groups 802, 804, 806 may continue tooperate in the sunlight penetration limiting mode at time T2.

FIG. 10D shows an example of how the system controller 810 may control asubgroup according to an increased subgroup sensor value. As shown inFIG. 10D, the shade groups 802, 804, 806 may be included in the samesubgroup at time T1. The shade groups 802, 804, 806 may be in the samesubgroup because the sensor reading for the shade groups 802, 804, 806may indicate light levels that are within the same predefined range(e.g., forty percent). The system controller 810 may control the shadegroups 802, 804, 806 according to the dark override mode at time T1. Thesystem controller 810 may identify the subgroup sensor value (e.g., 290FC) for the subgroup at time T1 based on the maximum sensor reading forthe shade groups 802, 804, 806. As the subgroup sensor value (e.g., 290FC) may be below the dark override threshold L_(TH-DK) (e.g., 300 FC),the shade groups 802, 804, 806 may be controlled according to the darkoverride mode at time T1.

At time T2, the system controller 810 may receive an updated sensorreading from the sensor for the shade group 802. The updated sensorreading from the sensor for the shade group 802 may indicate a lightlevel (e.g., 350 FC) that remains within the predefined range (e.g.,forty percent) of the light levels for the subgroup in which the shadegroups 804, 806 are controlled, so the shade groups 802, 804, 806 mayremain within the same subgroup. The system controller 810 may updatethe subgroup sensor value (e.g., 350 FC) to the sensor reading from thesensor for the shade group 802 and may control the shade groups 802,804, 806 according to the updated subgroup sensor value (e.g., 350 FC).The updated subgroup sensor value (e.g., 350 FC) may be increased attime T2 to a light level that is above the dark override thresholdL_(TH-DK) and the dark override hysteresis and may cause the systemcontroller 810 to control the shade groups 802, 804, 806 in the subgroupto be controlled according to the sunlight penetration limiting mode.

FIG. 10E shows an example of how the system controller 810 may controlsubgroups when the shade group 802 leaves a subgroup and enters anothersubgroup. As shown in FIG. 10E, the shade groups 802, 804, 806 may beincluded in the same subgroup at time T1. The shade groups 802, 804, 806may be in the same subgroup because the sensor reading for the shadegroups 802, 804, 806 may indicate light levels that are within the samepredefined range (e.g., forty percent). The system controller 810 maycontrol the shade groups 802, 804, 806 according to the dark overridemode at time T1. The system controller 810 may identify the subgroupsensor value (e.g., 290 FC) for the subgroup at T1 based on the maximumsensor reading for the shade groups 802, 804, 806. As the subgroupsensor value (e.g., 290 FC) may be below the dark override thresholdL_(TH-DK) (e.g., 300 FC), the shade groups 802, 804, 806 may becontrolled according to the dark override mode at time T1.

At time T2, the system controller 810 may receive an updated sensorreading from the sensor for the shade group 802. The updated sensorreading from the sensor for the shade group 802 may indicate a lightlevel (e.g., 4000 FC) that is outside of the predefined range (e.g.,forty percent) of the light levels for the subgroup in which the shadegroups 804, 806 are controlled, so the shade group 802 may be removedfrom the subgroup in which the shade groups 804, 806 are controlled. Theshade group 802 may enter another subgroup that includes the light levelof the shade group 802 (e.g., 4000 FC) as the subgroup sensor value. Asthe subgroup sensor value for the shade group 802 is above the darkoverride threshold L_(TH-DK) and the dark override hysteresis, the shadegroup 802 may enter the sunlight penetration limiting mode at time T2.The shade group 802 leaving the subgroup according to which the systemcontroller 810 controls the shade groups 804, 806 may not affect thesubgroup. For example, the subgroup according within the shade groups804, 806 are being controlled may remain in the dark override mode attime T2 and/or maintain control according to the subgroup sensor value(e.g., 290) according to which the subgroup was controlled at time T1.The subgroup sensor value (e.g., 290) for the subgroup according withinthe shade groups 804, 806 are being controlled a time T2 may be updatedwhen the sensor reading for shade group 804 and/or shade group 806 areupdated.

FIG. 10F shows another example of how the system controller 810 maycontrol a subgroup when the shade group 802 enters the subgroup. Asshown in FIG. 10F, the shade group 802 may be included in a differentsubgroup than shade groups 804, 806 at time T1. The shade group 802 maybe in a different subgroup because the sensor reading for shade group802 may indicate a light level (e.g., 3000 FC) that is outside of thepredefined range (e.g., forty percent) of the light levels for thesubgroup in which the shade groups 804, 806 are controlled.

The subgroup sensor value according to which the shade groups 804, 806may be controlled may be 290 FC, which may be below the dark overridethreshold L_(TH-DK) of 300 FC. As the subgroup sensor value according towhich the shade groups 804, 806 are controlled is below the darkoverride threshold L_(TH-DK), the shade groups 804, 806 may be in thedark override mode at time T1. The shade group 802 may be in thesunlight penetration limiting mode at time T1, as the subgroup sensorvalue according to which the shade group 802 may be controlled may be3000 FC, which may be above the dark override threshold L_(TH-DK) of 300FC and a dark override hysteresis.

At time T2, the system controller 810 may receive an updated sensorreading from the sensor for the shade group 802. The updated sensorreading from the sensor for the shade group 802 may indicate a lightlevel (e.g., 305 FC) that is within the predefined range (e.g., fortypercent) of the light levels for the subgroup in which the shade groups804, 806 are controlled and the system controller 810 may include theshade group 802 in the same subgroup as the shade groups 804, 806. Whenthe shade group 802 joins the subgroup of the shade groups 804, 806, thesubgroup may continue to be controlled according to the same subgroupsensor value (e.g., 290 FC) as the subgroup was controlled at time T1.The system controller 810 may start the dark override timer for theshade group 802 when the shade group joins the subgroup of the shadegroups 804, 806 for putting the shade group 802 in the dark overridemode, even though the sensor reading for the shade group 802 may beabove the dark override threshold L_(TH-DK) and the dark overridehysteresis. The system controller 810 may control the shade group 802according to the existing subgroup sensor value (e.g., 290 FC) when theshade group 802 joins the subgroup of the shade groups 804, 806, becausethe sensor light level for the shade groups 804, 806 have goneunchanged. Since the sensor light level for the shade group 802 haschanged and is closer to the existing subgroup sensor value (e.g., 290FC) according to which the shade groups 804, 806 are being controlled,the system controller 810 may control the shade group 802 according tothe existing subgroup configuration.

At time T3, the system controller 810 may receive an updated sensorreading from the sensor for the shade group 802. The updated sensorreading from the sensor for the shade group 802 may indicate a lightlevel (e.g., 370 FC) that is within the predefined range (e.g., fortypercent) of the light levels for the subgroup in which the shade groups804, 806 are controlled and the system controller 810 may keep the shadegroup 802 in the same subgroup as the shade groups 804, 806. As theshade group 802 entered the subgroup based on a previous sensor readingat time T2, the updated sensor reading for the shade group 802 may beused to evaluate whether to change the subgroup sensor value at time T3.The updated sensor reading (e.g., 370 FC) for the shade group 802 may bethe maximum light level for the shade groups 802, 804, 806 at time T3and may be set as the subgroup sensor value. As the updated sensorreading for the shade group 802 is increasing at time T3 to a lightlevel above the dark override threshold L_(TH-DK) and the dark overridehysteresis, the shade groups 804, 806 in the subgroup may enter thesunlight penetration limiting mode at time T3. The dark override timerfor shade group 802 may be stopped at time T3 when the sensor lightlevel for shade group 802 is set as the subgroup sensor value accordingto which the subgroup may be controlled.

FIG. 10G shows another example of how the system controller 810 maycontrol a subgroup when the shade group 802 enters the subgroup. Asshown in FIG. 10G, the shade group 802 may be included in a differentsubgroup than shade groups 804, 806 at time T1. The shade group 802 maybe in a different subgroup because the sensor reading for shade group802 may indicate a light level (e.g., 3000 FC) that is outside of thepredefined range (e.g., forty percent) of the light levels for thesubgroup in which the shade groups 804, 806 are controlled.

The subgroup sensor value according to which the shade groups 804, 806may be controlled may be 290 FC, which may be below the dark overridethreshold L_(TH-DK) of 300 FC. As the subgroup sensor value according towhich the shade groups 804, 806 are controlled is below the darkoverride threshold L_(TH-DK), the shade groups 804, 806 may be in thedark override mode at time T1. The shade group 802 may be in thesunlight penetration limiting mode at time T1, as the subgroup sensorvalue according to which the shade group 802 may be controlled may be3000 FC, which may be above the dark override threshold L_(TH-DK) of 300FC and a dark override hysteresis.

At time T2, the system controller 810 may receive an updated sensorreading from the sensor for the shade group 802. The updated sensorreading from the sensor for the shade group 802 may indicate a lightlevel (e.g., 305 FC) that is within the predefined range (e.g., fortypercent) of the light levels for the subgroup in which the shade groups804, 806 are controlled and the system controller 810 may include theshade group 802 in the same subgroup as the shade groups 804, 806. Whenthe shade group 802 joins the subgroup of the shade groups 804, 806, thesubgroup may continue to be controlled according to the same subgroupsensor value (e.g., 290 FC) as the subgroup was controlled at time T1.The system controller 810 may start the dark override timer for theshade group 802 when the shade group 802 joins the subgroup of the shadegroups 804, 806 for putting the shade group 802 in the dark overridemode, even though the sensor reading for the shade group 802 may beabove the dark override threshold L_(TH-DK) and the dark overridehysteresis. The system controller 810 may control the shade group 802according to the existing subgroup sensor value (e.g., 290 FC) when theshade group 802 joins the subgroup of the shade groups 804, 806, becausethe sensor light level for the shade groups 804, 806 have goneunchanged. Since the sensor light level for the shade group 802 haschanged and is closer to the existing subgroup sensor value (e.g., 290FC) according to which the shade groups 804, 806 are being controlled,the system controller 810 may control the shade group 802 according tothe existing subgroup configuration.

At time T3, the system controller 810 may receive an updated sensorreading from the sensor for the shade group 806. The updated sensorreading from the sensor for the shade group 806 may indicate a lightlevel (e.g., 301 FC) that is within the predefined range (e.g., fortypercent) of the light levels for the subgroup in which the shade groups802, 804 are controlled and the system controller 810 may keep the shadegroup 806 in the same subgroup as the shade groups 802, 804. The updatedsensor reading for the shade group 806 may trigger an evaluation ofwhether to change the subgroup sensor value at time T3. The updatedsensor reading (e.g., 301 FC) for the shade group 806 may be identifiedas increasing at time T3 from time T2, but the maximum light level forthe shade groups 802, 804, 806 at time T3 may be the light levelindicated by the sensor reading for shade group 802 (e.g., 305 FC), sothe system controller may set the light level indicated by the sensorfor shade group 802 (e.g., 305 FC) as the subgroup sensor value. As theupdated sensor reading for the shade group 802 increases the subgroupsensor value at time T3 to a light level above the dark overridethreshold L_(TH-DK) and the dark override hysteresis, the shade groups804, 806 in the subgroup may enter the sunlight penetration limitingmode at time T3. The dark override timer for shade group 802 may bestopped at time T3 when the sensor light level for shade group 802 isset as the subgroup maximum sensor light level according to which thesubgroup may be controlled.

The examples shown in FIGS. 10A-10G may be performed by the systemcontroller 810 (e.g., the system controller 110 shown in FIG. 1 ). Anetwork device, such as the personal computer 164 shown in FIG. 1 , maybe used to display subgroups, shade groups, sensor reading values foreach shade group, and/or the subgroup maximum sensor light levels foreach subgroup. Though the examples shown in FIGS. 10A-10G show thesystem controller may adjust shade groups between different modes ofoperation, such as the dark override mode (e.g., a lowest mode) and thesunlight penetration limiting mode (e.g., a middle mode), the systemcontroller may similarly adjust the control of the shade groupsaccording to other modes of operation, such as the bright override mode(e.g., a highest mode) for example. The sensor reading values for eachsensor may represent the most recent sensor readings by the windowsensors at the indicated instant in time.

FIGS. 11A & 11B are simplified flowchart of additional exampleprocedures that may be executed by a system controller (e.g., the systemcontroller 110 of the load control system 100 shown in FIG. 1 ) forcontrolling a plurality of motorized window treatments (e.g., themotorized roller shades 140 or the motorized window treatments 440, 442,444 shown in FIG. 6 ) in response to a plurality of window sensors(e.g., the window sensors 420, 422, 424 shown in FIG. 6 ). FIG. 11A is asimplified flowchart of an example control procedure 900, which may beexecuted by the system controller in response to receiving a digitalmessage including a current sensor reading from one of the windowsensors. During the control procedure 900, the system controller maygenerate sensor groupings and adjust shade groups (e.g., subgroups)between the different modes of operation, such as the dark override mode(e.g., a lowest mode), the sunlight penetration limiting mode (e.g., amiddle mode), and/or the bright override mode (e.g., a highest mode).

The control procedure 900 may be executed by the system controller inresponse to receiving a digital message including a sensor reading fromone of the window sensors at 910. If the current sensor reading is thesame as the previously stored sensor reading from that sensor at 912,the control procedure 900 may exit at 924. If the current sensor readingis different from the previously stored sensor reading from that sensorat 912, the system controller may determine the sensor state at 914. Forexample, the system controller may determine the trend of the sensorreadings (e.g., whether the sensor readings are increasing ordecreasing) for the sensor. The system controller may store in memorythe current sensor reading, along with the previous sensor reading, andthe sensor state (e.g., the trend of the sensor readings) at 916. Thesensor reading, the previous sensor reading, and the sensor state may bestored for each sensor that is identified as having an updated sensorreading at 912.

At 918, the system controller may determine real-time sensor grouping(e.g., as in 514 of the control procedure 500 shown in FIG. 7 and/or thecontrol procedure 600 shown in FIG. 8 ). For example, the systemcontroller may group window sensors into sensor groups (e.g., subgroups)where the sensor readings are within a predetermined amount Δ_(L) (e.g.,40%) of each other. The sensor grouping may be triggered by the updatedsensor reading being received. The system controller may determine, at920 a group sensor value for the sensor groups determined at 918 (e.g.,as shown in FIG. 11B). The group sensor value may be the subgroup sensorvalue for each subgroup of a master group, for example. At 922, thesystem controller may determine the mode of operation for each shadegroup using the group sensor value for each shade group determined at920. For example, the system controller may adjust shade groups betweendifferent modes of operation, such as the dark override mode (e.g., alowest mode), the sunlight penetration limiting mode (e.g., a middlemode), and/or the bright override mode (e.g., a highest mode) based onthe group sensor value. The procedure 900 may exit at 924.

FIG. 11B shows a flowchart of an example procedure 930 for determining asensor subgroup from which a current sensor reading is received andwhether a group sensor value for a sensor subgroup should be updatedbased on the sensor reading. The procedure 930 may be entered at 932.For example, the procedure 930 may be entered by the system controllerto re-calculate a group sensor value for a sensor subgroup in which awindow sensor transmits a digital message that is received by the systemcontroller that includes a current daylight value. The procedure 930 maybe used to update the group sensor value for a created subgroup thatincludes the sensor that transmitted the digital message that includesthe current daylight value. At 934, the system controller may determinewhether there are subgroups to process. The system controller maydetermine that there are subgroups to process at 934 when the systemcontroller has received a current sensor value for a subgroup that isdifferent from the previously stored sensor value for the subgroup. Ifthere are no subgroups for the system controller to process at 934, theprocedure 930 may exit at 936.

If the system controller determines that there are subgroups for beingprocessed at 934, the system controller may determine, at 938, whetherthe transmitting sensor from which the digital message is received is inthe subgroup determined for being processed at 934. For example, thesystem controller may determine the subgroup that includes the sensorfrom which the current light level is received. If the system controllerdetermines, at 938, that the transmitting sensor from which the digitalmessage is received is not in the subgroup determined for beingprocessed at 934, the procedure 900 may return to 934 for determiningwhether to process other subgroups to identify the sensor from which thecurrent light level is received. The system controller may continue toiterate through the subgroups at 938 to determine the subgroup that thetransmitting sensor from which the current light level is received.

If the system controller determines, at 938, that the transmittingsensor from which the digital message is received is in the subgroupdetermined for being processed at 934, the system controller maydetermine whether the current sensor reading from the transmittingsensor decreased in light level since the previously stored sensorreading at 940. If the system controller determines that the currentsensor reading from the transmitting sensor decreased in light level,the system controller may determine, at 942, whether the current sensorreading from the transmitting sensor would cause any shade group in thesubgroup to increase to a higher mode operation level (e.g., to thesunlight penetration limiting mode and/or the bright override mode). Thesystem controller may not re-calculate the group sensor value if thereceived sensor reading is decreasing and the received sensor readingwould cause any shade group in the present sensor group to increase thelevel of a mode of operation at 942 (e.g., from the dark override modeto the sunlight penetration limiting mode or from the sunlightpenetration limiting mode to the bright override mode). For example, thesystem controller may ignore the sensor reading and may not re-calculatethe group sensor value at 944. Accordingly, the system controller maynot control the motorized window treatments if a shade group joined asensor group (e.g., subgroup) by decreasing in the light level. Theprocedure 930 may return to 934 to determine whether to process moresubgroups.

The system controller may re-calculate the group sensor value if thereceived sensor reading is increasing at 940, or the system controllerdetermines that the received sensor reading is decreasing at 940 and thereceived sensor reading would not cause any shade group in the presentsensor group to increase the level of a mode of operation at 942 (e.g.,from the dark override mode to the sunlight penetration limiting mode orfrom the sunlight penetration limiting mode to the bright overridemode). The system controller may determine, at 946, whether there aresensor light values in the subgroup for being processed to re-calculatethe group sensor value. If the system controller determines that thereare not sensor light values in the subgroup for being processed at 946,the procedure 930 may return to 934. If the system controller determinesthat there are sensor light values in the subgroup for being processedat 946, the system controller may determine whether the sensor lightlevel is greater than the current group sensor value at 948. The groupsensor value may be the subgroup sensor value. If the system controllerdetermines that the sensor light value is not greater than the currentgroup sensor value at 948, the procedure 900 may return to 946. If thesystem controller determines that the sensor light value is greater thanthe current group sensor value at 948, the group sensor value may beupdated to the current sensor lighting level at 950 before returning to946.

FIGS. 12A and 12B showing an additional example system 1000 illustratingthe operation of a motorized window treatment system (e.g., the loadcontrol system 100) at different instances in time for controlling aplurality of motorized window treatments (e.g., the motorized windowtreatments 440, 442, 444 arranged along the single façade 400 as shownin FIG. 6 ) in order to maintain the hembars of the motorized windowtreatments horizontally aligned unless sensor readings differ by apredetermined amount.

As shown in FIG. 12A, the motorized window treatment system 1000 mayinclude shade groups 1002, 1004, 1006, 1008. The shade groups 1002,1004, 1006, 1008 may each include one or more motorized windowtreatments for controlling one or more respective shades. The motorizedwindow treatments of the shade groups 1002, 1004, 1006, 1008 may becontrolled by one or more system controllers, such as system controller1010. The system controller 1010 may receive sensor readings fromrespective window sensors for each of the shade groups 1002, 1004, 1006,1008 that indicate a sensed light level for controlling each of theshade groups 1002, 1004, 1006, 1008. The respective window sensors foreach of the shade groups 1002, 1004, 1006, 1008 may include one or morewindow sensors.

As shown in FIG. 12A, the system controller 1010 may receive a sensorreading for shade groups 1002, 1004, 1006, 1008 at a time T1 that mayidentify a sensed light level of 550 FC, 475 FC, 290 FC, and 240 FC forthe respective shade groups 1002, 1004, 1006, and 1008. The systemcontroller 810 may group shade groups 1002 and 1004 into the samesubgroup, as the shade groups 1002 and 1004 may transmit a sensorreading that is within a predefined range of one another, such as fortypercent. The system controller may group shade groups 1006 and 1008 intothe same subgroup, as the shade groups 1006 and 1008 may be within thepredefined range of one another. The system controller 1010 may controlthe shade groups 1002, 1004, 1006, 1008 according to a dark overridethreshold L_(TH-DK) of 300 FC.

The system controller 1010 may control the shade groups 1002 and 1004according to the same subgroup sensor value. The subgroup sensor valuemay be the sensor light level of shade group 1002, which may be thesensor light level of 550 FC. As the subgroup sensor value is above thedark override threshold L_(TH-DK) of 300 FC and a dark overridehysteresis, each of the shade groups 1002 and 1004 in the subgroup maybe controlled according to the sunlight penetration limiting mode. Thesystem controller 1010 may control the shade groups 1006 and 1008according to the same subgroup sensor value. The subgroup sensor valuefor the subgroup of shade groups 1006 and 1008 may be the sensor lightlevel of shade group 1006, which may be the sensor light level of 290FC. As the subgroup sensor value for the shade groups 1006 and 1008 isbelow the dark override threshold L_(TH-DK) of 300 FC, each of the shadegroups 1006 and 1008 may be controlled according to the dark overridemode.

The system controller 810 may receive an updated sensor reading forshade group 1002 at time T2. The updated sensor reading for shade group1002 may be 2000 FC. As the updated sensor reading for shade group 1002may be outside of the predefined range of the sensor readings for theother shade groups 1004, 1006, 1008 (e.g., forty percent), the shadegroup 1002 may be included in a separate subgroup and may be controlledaccording to the defined subgroup. Though the shade group 1002 may exitthe subgroup of shade group 1004, the sensor reading of shade group 1002at time T1 (e.g., 550 FC) may continue to be the subgroup sensor valueaccording to which the shade group 1004 is controlled.

The system controller may re-group the shade groups 1004 and 1006 in thesame subgroup. As the shade group 1002 has now increased to a lightlevel above the predefined range shade group 1004, the sensor readingfor shade group 1004 may be set as the upper limit for creating anothersubgroup. Though the shade group 1006 was not grouped with shade group1004 at time T1 because the sensor reading for shade group 1006 was notwithin the predefined range of the sensor reading for shade group 1002,the shade group 1006 is within the predefined range of the sensorreading for shade group 1004 and is grouped with shade group 1004 attime T2. Shade group 1008 is not within the predefined range of thesensor reading for shade group 1004, so shade group 1008 is in anothersubgroup.

Though shade group 1004 and 1006 may be within the same subgroup at timeT2, the subgroup sensor value for controlling each of the shade groups1004 and 1006 may be different. Shade groups 1004 and 1006 may each becontrolled at time T2 according to the subgroup sensor value assigned toeach shade group 1004, 1006 at time T1, since the shade groups 1004 and1006 are not the shade groups from which the sensor reading wastransmitted at time T2. Since the updated sensor reading was transmittedby a sensor of a shade group 1002 that is not in the subgroup of theshade groups 1004 and 1006, the subgroup sensor value assigned to eachshade group 1004, 1006 may not be re-calculated. The operational modefor each of the shade groups 1004, 1006, and 1008 may also be unaffectedat time T2.

FIG. 12B shows an example of how the system controller 1010 may controla subgroup when the shade groups 1002 and 1004 enter the subgroup. Asshown in FIG. 10B, the shade groups 1002 and 1004 may be included in adifferent subgroup than shade groups 1006 at time T1. The shade groups1002 and 1004 may be in a different subgroup than shade group 1006because the sensor reading for shade groups 1002 and 1004 may indicate alight level (e.g., 3000 FC) that is outside of the predefined range(e.g., forty percent) of the light levels for the subgroup in which theshade group 1006 are controlled. The shade groups 1002 and 1004 may becontrolled according to a sunlight penetration limiting mode, as thecurrent sensor reading for shade groups 1002 and 1004 may be above thedark override threshold L_(TH-DK) of 300 FC and a dark overridehysteresis (e.g., 3000 FC for shade group 1002 and 3100 FC for shadegroup 1004). The shade group 1006 may be controlled according to asubgroup sensor value that is below the dark override threshold (e.g.,290 FC) at time T1.

The sensor reading for shade group 1004 may be updated at time T2 to alight level (e.g., 305 FC) within the predefined range (e.g., fortypercent) of the light level for the shade group 1006 and the systemcontroller may include the shade groups 1004 and 1006 in the samesubgroup. The updated sensor reading for shade group 1004 may be ignoredat time T2 for re-calculating the subgroup sensor value, since the lightlevel for shade group 1004 is decreasing at time T2. Because the shadegroup 1004 is being controlled at time T2 using the subgroup sensorvalue of the subgroup at time T1, the system controller may start thedark override timer for shade group 1004 at time T2 even though theupdated sensor reading for shade group 1004 may be above the darkoverride threshold L_(TH-DK) of 300 FC and a dark override hysteresis.

The sensor reading for shade group 1002 may be updated at time T3 to alight level (e.g., 350 FC) within the predefined range (e.g., fortypercent) of the light level for the shade groups 1004, 1006 and thesystem controller may include the shade groups 1002, 1004, and 1006 inthe same subgroup. The updated sensor reading for shade group 1002 maybe ignored at time T3 for re-calculating the subgroup sensor value,since the light level for shade group 1002 is decreasing at time T3.Because the shade group 1002 is being controlled at time T3 using thesubgroup sensor value of the subgroup at time T1, the system controllermay start the dark override timer for shade group 1002 at time T3 eventhough the updated sensor reading for shade group 1006 may be above thedark override threshold L_(TH-DK) of 300 FC and a dark overridehysteresis.

The examples shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B may be performed by the systemcontroller 1010 (e.g., the system controller 110 shown in FIG. 1 ). Anetwork device, such as the personal computer 164 shown in FIG. 1 , maybe used to display subgroups, shade groups, sensor reading values foreach shade group, and/or the subgroup sensor values for each subgroup.Though the examples shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B show the systemcontroller may adjust shade groups between different modes of operation,such as the dark override mode (e.g., a lowest mode) and the sunlightpenetration limiting mode (e.g., a middle mode), the system controllermay similarly adjust the shade groups to be controlled according toother modes of operation, such as the bright override mode (e.g., ahighest mode). The sensor reading values may represent the lasttransmitted sensor readings by the window sensors at the indicatedinstant in time.

FIG. 13 is a simplified flowchart of an example start dark overridetimer procedure 1100, which may be executed by the system controllerwhen the system controller starts the dark override timer for one of theshade groups (e.g., the shade groups 410, 412, 414 shown in FIG. 6 ).The start dark override timer procedure 1100 may allow for the alignmentof the movements of the motorized window treatments into a fewermovements (e.g., to prevent distractions to occupants). For example, ifthe system controller is about to start the dark override time for aspecific shade group, the system controller may use the procedure 1100to scan the other shade groups in a master group to determine if thesystem controller has started the dark override timer for any of theother shade groups within a predefined period of time (e.g., within thelast minute). If the system controller has started the dark overridetimer for other shade groups within a predefined period of time, thesystem controller may set the dark override timer for this specificshade group to the same time as the dark override timer of the shadegroup(s) that started within the predefined period of time, such thatthe motorized window treatments of both of the shade groups may open inunison when the shade groups go into dark override mode.

As shown in FIG. 13 , the procedure 1100 may begin at 1102. The systemcontroller may determine, at 1104, whether there are shade groups toprocess in the master group. For example, the system controller maydetermine whether there are shade groups for which that the systemcontroller has started a dark override timer at 1104. If there are noshade groups to process at 1104, they procedure 1100 may end at 1106. Ifthere are shade groups to process at 1104, the system controller maydetermine if there is a shade group for which the system controller hasdetermined to start an override timer at 1108. If not, the procedure1100 may return to 1104. If there is a shade group for which the systemcontroller has determined to start an override timer at 1108, the systemcontroller may calculate when the override timer for the shade groupwould expire at 1110. At 1112, the system controller may determinewhether there are other shade groups to process in the master group thathave an override timer. If not, the procedure may return to 1104.

If the system controller determines, at 1112, that there are other shadegroups that have an override timer in the master list, the systemcontroller may determine, at 1114, whether the other shade group'soverride timer is active (e.g., already started). If the other shadegroup's override timer is not active, the procedure 1100 may return to1112. If the other shade group's override timer is active, the systemcontroller may determine whether the operation mode for the active timeris the same as an operation mode of the override timer to be started.For example, the system controller may determine whether the activeoverride timer is a dark override timer. If not, the procedure 1100 mayreturn to 1112. If the other shade group's override timer is active andin the same operation mode of the override timer to be started, thesystem controller may determine if the override timer to be startedwould expire within a predefined time period (e.g., one minute) afterthe active override timer of the other shade group at 1118. If not, theprocedure 1100 would return to 1112. If the override timer to be startedwould expire within a predefined time period (e.g., one minute) afterthe active override timer of the other shade group, the systemcontroller may sync the timer expiration times for the timers at 1120.For example, the system controller may change the time period for theexpiration of the override timer to be started such that it will expireat the same time as the active override timer. The procedure 1100 mayreturn to 1104 to evaluate other shade groups, if any.

Though examples are provided herein for grouping motorized windowtreatments according to sensor readings that include daylight levels,other types of sensors may also be used to group and/or controlmotorized window treatments or other electrical loads. For example,other types of sensors may sense parameters in the vicinity ofelectrical loads. The system controller may use the sensed parameters todynamically group the sensors together into groups, or subgroups of amaster group, as described herein. The system controller may group thesensors that are within a predetermined parameter value of one another,as described herein. As the sensed parameters change for one or moresensors in a group, the sensor groups may be dynamically reconfigured,as described herein.

The groups (e.g., subgroups) of sensors may be used to controlrespective electrical loads according to a group sensor value that maybe a representative value on which the electrical loads may becontrolled, as described with regard to the control of the groups of themotorized window treatments herein. The sensed parameter for the groupsensor value may be the highest valued parameter of the sensedparameters in the group. Each sensor group may include one or moresensors within the group that correspond to an electrical load for beingcontrolled by the sensor.

In an example embodiment, the group of sensors may include temperaturesensors in a space of a building that may be used to control thetemperature. The temperature sensors may be grouped that are within apredefined threshold of one another for performing similar control ofHVAC systems within a building. Other types of sensors may be similarlygrouped for different types of electrical loads in a load controlsystem. For example, the sensors may include occupancy sensors, vacancysensors, daylight sensors, humidity sensors, pressure sensors, securitysensors, proximity sensors, and/or other types of sensors that may beused to control an electrical load.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating an example network device 400(e.g., the personal computer 164 of FIG. 1 ) as described herein. Thenetwork device 1200 may include a control circuit 1202 for controllingthe functionality of the network device 1200. The control circuit 1202may include one or more general purpose processors, special purposeprocessors, conventional processors, digital signal processors (DSPs),microprocessors, integrated circuits, a programmable logic device (PLD),application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), and/or the like. Thecontrol circuit 1202 may perform signal coding, data processing, powercontrol, image processing, input/output processing, and/or any otherfunctionality that enables the network device 1200 to perform asdescribed herein.

The control circuit 1202 may store information in and/or retrieveinformation from the memory 1204. The memory 1204 may include anon-removable memory and/or a removable memory. The non-removable memorymay include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a harddisk, and/or any other type of non-removable memory storage. Theremovable memory may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, amemory stick, a memory card (e.g., a digital camera memory card), and/orany other type of removable memory. The control circuit 1202 may accessthe memory 1204 for executable instructions and/or other informationthat may be used by the network device 1200.

The network device 1200 may include a wireless communication circuit1206 for wirelessly transmitting and/or receiving information. Forexample, the wireless communications circuit 1206 may include an RFtransceiver for transmitting and receiving RF communication signals(e.g., network communication signals) via an antenna 1212, or othercommunications module capable of performing wireless communications.Wireless communications circuit 1206 may be in communication with thecontrol circuit 1202 for communicating information to and/or from thecontrol circuit 1202. For example, the wireless communication circuit1206 may send information from the control circuit 1202 via networkcommunication signals (e.g., WI-FI® signals, WI-MAX® signals, etc.). Thewireless communication circuit 1206 may send information to the controlcircuit 1202 that is received via network communication signals.

The control circuit 1202 may also be in communication with a display1208. The display may provide information to a user in the form of agraphical and/or textual display. The communication between the display1208 and the control circuit 1202 may be a two way communication, as thedisplay 1208 may include a touch screen module capable of receivinginformation from a user and providing such information to the controlcircuit 1202.

The network device 1200 may include an actuator 1210. The controlcircuit 1202 may be responsive to the actuator 1210 for receiving a userinput. For example, the control circuit 1202 may be operable to receivea button press from a user on the network device 1200 for making aselection or performing other functionality on the network device 1200.

Each of the modules within the network device 1200 may be powered by apower source 1214. The power source 1214 may include an AC power supplyor DC power supply, for example. The power source 1214 may generate a DCsupply voltage V_(CC) for powering the modules within the network device1200.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram of an example system controller 1300 (e.g.,the system controller 110 of FIG. 1 ). The system controller 1300 maycomprise a control circuit 1310, which may include one or more of aprocessor (e.g., a microprocessor), a microcontroller, a programmablelogic device (PLD), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or any suitableprocessing device. The control circuit 1310 may perform signal coding,data processing, image processing, power control, input/outputprocessing, and/or any other functionality that enables the systemcontroller 1300 to perform as described herein. The system controller1300 may comprise a network communication circuit 1312 that may becoupled to a network connector 1314 (e.g., an Ethernet jack), which maybe adapted to be connected to a wired digital communication link (e.g.,an Ethernet communication link) for allowing the control circuit 1310 tocommunicate on a network. In an example, the network connector 1314 maybe connected to a network communication device (e.g., access point,router, modem, bridge, etc.). The network communication circuit 1312 maybe configured to be wirelessly connected to the network, e.g., usingWi-Fi technology to transmit and/or receive network communicationsignals. For example, the network communication circuit 1312 may beconfigured to wirelessly communicate via network communication signals(e.g., WI-FI® signals, WI-MAX® signals, etc.). The control circuit 1310may be coupled to the network communication circuit 1312 fortransmitting digital messages via the network communication signals.

The system controller 1300 may comprise a wireless communication circuit1316, for example, including an RF transceiver coupled to an antenna fortransmitting and/or receiving RF communication signals. The wirelesscommunication circuit 1316 may communicate using a proprietary protocol(e.g., the ClearConnect® protocol). The control circuit 1310 may becoupled to the wireless communication circuit 1316 for transmittingand/or receiving digital messages via the RF communication signals. Thecontrol circuit 1310 may be configured to send digital message to and/orreceive digital messages from control devices (e.g., control-targetdevices and/or control-source devices).

The control circuit 1310 may be responsive to an actuator 1320 forreceiving a user input. For example, the control circuit 1310 may beoperable to associate the system controller 1300 with one or moredevices of a load control system in response to actuations of theactuator 1320. The system controller 1300 may comprise additionalactuators to which the control circuit 1310 may be responsive.

The control circuit 1310 may store information in and/or retrieveinformation from the memory 1318. The memory 1318 may include anon-removable memory and/or a removable memory for storingcomputer-readable media. The non-removable memory may includerandom-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, and/orany other type of non-removable memory storage. The removable memory mayinclude a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, amemory card (e.g., a digital camera memory card), and/or any other typeof removable memory. The control circuit 1310 may access the memory 1318for executable instructions and/or other information that may be used bythe system controller 1300. The control circuit 1310 may store thedevice identifiers in the memory 1318. The control circuit 1310 mayaccess instructions in the memory 1318 for transmitting instructionsand/or performing other functions described herein.

The system controller 1300 may comprise a power supply 1324 forgenerating a DC supply voltage V_(CC) for powering the control circuit1310, the network communication circuit 1312, the wireless communicationcircuit 1316, the memory 1318, and/or other circuitry of the systemcontroller 1300. The power supply 1324 may be coupled to a power supplyconnector 1326 (e.g., a USB port) for receiving a supply voltage (e.g.,a DC voltage) and/or for drawing current from an external power source.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating an example load control device1400. The load control device 1400 may be a control-target device, suchas a lighting control device, for example. The load control device 1400may be a dimmer switch, an electronic switch, an electronic ballast forlamps, an LED driver for LED light sources, a plug-in load controldevice, a temperature control device (e.g., a thermostat), a motor driveunit for a motorized window treatment, or other load control device. Theload control device 1400 may include a communication circuit 1402. Thecommunication circuit 1402 may include a receiver, an RF transceiver, orother communication module capable of performing wired and/or wirelesscommunications. The wireless communications may be performed via anantenna 1416.

The communication circuit 1402 may be in communication with a controlcircuit 1404. The control circuit 1404 may include one or more generalpurpose processors, special purpose processors, conventional processors,digital signal processors (DSPs), microprocessors, integrated circuits,a programmable logic device (PLD), application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), or the like. The control circuit 1404 may performsignal coding, data processing, power control, input/output processing,or any other functionality that enables the load control device 1400 toperform as described herein.

The control circuit 1404 may store information in and/or retrieveinformation from a memory 1406. For example, the memory 1406 maymaintain a device database of associated device identifiers and/or otherexecutable instructions for performing as described herein. The memory1406 may include a non-removable memory and/or a removable memory. Theload control circuit 1408 may receive instructions from the controlcircuit 1404 and may control the electrical load 1410 based on thereceived instructions. The load control circuit 1408 may receive powervia the hot connection 1412 and the neutral connection 1414 and mayprovide an amount of power to the electrical load 1410. The electricalload 1410 may include a lighting load, an electrical motor forcontrolling a motorized window treatment, or any other type ofelectrical load.

Although features and elements are described above in particularcombinations, each feature or element can be used alone or in anycombination with the other features and elements. The methods describedherein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmwareincorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computeror processor. Examples of computer-readable media include electronicsignals (transmitted over wired or wireless connections) andcomputer-readable storage media. Examples of computer-readable storagemedia include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), arandom access memory (RAM), removable disks, and optical media such asCD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks (DVDs).

What is claimed is:
 1. A motorized window treatment system controller,comprising: communications interface circuitry; and control circuitryconfigured to: receive, via the communications interface circuitry, aplurality of signals from a master sensor group that includes acorresponding plurality of sensors disposed across a building façade;based on current signal data and stored historical signal data,dynamically form, within the master sensor group, a plurality of sensorsub-groups, each of the plurality of sensor sub-groups including atleast a portion of the sensors forming the plurality of sensors includedin the master sensor group; associate one or more window treatments witheach of the plurality of sensor sub-groups; for each of the plurality ofsensor sub-groups: determine a sub-group trend using the current signaldata and the historical signal data from at least a portion of thesensors included in the respective sensor sub-group; based on thedetermined sub-group trend reading for the sensor sub-group, determine awindow treatment mode for the one or more window treatments associatedwith the respective sensor sub-group; and communicate an output to theone or more window treatments via the communications interfacecircuitry.
 2. The controller of claim 1 wherein to determine a windowtreatment mode for the one or more window treatments associated with therespective sensor sub-group, the control circuitry further configuredto: select one of: a dark override window treatment mode; a sunlightpenetrating limiting window treatment mode; or a bright override windowtreatment mode.
 3. The controller of claim 2 wherein to determine thesub-group trend using the current sensor data and the historical sensordata from at least the portion of the sensors included in the respectivesensor sub-group, the control circuitry further configured to: determineif the sub-group trend is predictive of a value greater than a brightoverride threshold or a value less than a dark override threshold value.4. The controller of claim 3 wherein responsive to a determination thatthe sub-group trend is predictive of a value greater than the brightoverride threshold, the control circuitry further configured to: causethe window treatments associated with the respective sensor sub-group totransition to a physical configuration corresponding to the brightoverride window treatment mode.
 5. The controller of claim 3 whereinresponsive to a determination that the sub-group trend is predictive ofa value less than the dark override threshold, the control circuitryfurther configured to: cause the window treatments associated with therespective sensor sub-group to transition to a physical configurationcorresponding to the dark override window treatment mode.
 6. Thecontroller of claim 3 wherein responsive to a determination that thesub-group trend is predictive of a value between the bright overridethreshold and the dark override threshold, the control circuitry furtherconfigured to: cause the window treatments associated with therespective sensor sub-group to transition to a physical configurationcorresponding to the sunlight penetrating limiting window treatmentmode.
 7. The controller of claim 6 wherein to cause the windowtreatments associated with the respective sensor sub-group to enter thephysical configuration corresponding to the sunlight penetratinglimiting window treatment mode, the control circuitry further configuredto: determine the physical configuration corresponding to the sunlightpenetrating limiting window treatment mode based on a geolocation, acurrent date, and a current time of day.
 8. The controller of claim 1wherein to determine the sub-group trend using the historical signaldata from at least the portion of the sensors included in the respectivesensor sub-group, the control circuitry further configured to: determinethe difference between the greatest value included in the historicalsignal data and the least value included in the historical signal dataover a defined temporal interval.
 9. A motorized window treatmentsystem, comprising: a plurality of sensors forming a master sensorgroup; a plurality of motorized window treatments disposed on a façadeof a building; a motorized window treatment system controllercommunicatively coupled to the plurality of sensors and to the pluralityof motorized window treatments, the controller including: communicationsinterface circuitry couplable to the plurality of sensors and to theplurality of motorized window treatments; memory circuitry to storehistorical sensor data; and control circuitry to: receive, via thecommunications interface circuitry, a plurality of signals from themaster sensor group that includes the corresponding plurality ofsensors; based on current signal data and stored historical signal data,dynamically form, within the master sensor group, a plurality of sensorsub-groups, each of the plurality of sub-groups including at least aportion of the sensors forming the plurality of sensors included in themaster sensor group; associate one or more window treatments with eachof the plurality of sensor sub-groups; for each of the plurality ofsensor sub-groups: determine a sub-group trend using the current sensordata and the historical sensor data from at least a portion of thesensors included in the respective sensor sub-group; based on thedetermined sub-group trend reading for the sensor sub-group, determine awindow treatment mode for the plurality of window treatments associatedwith the respective sensor sub-group; and communicate an output to theone or more window treatments via the communications interfacecircuitry.
 10. The system of claim 9 wherein to determine a windowtreatment mode for the one or more window treatments associated with therespective sensor sub-group, the control circuitry further configuredto: select one of: a dark override window treatment mode; a sunlightpenetrating limiting window treatment mode; or a bright override windowtreatment mode.
 11. The system of claim 10 wherein to determine thesub-group trend using the current sensor data and the historical sensordata from at least the portion of the sensors included in the respectivesensor sub-group, the control circuitry further configured to: determineif the sub-group trend is predictive of a value greater than a brightoverride threshold or a value less than a dark override threshold value.12. The system of claim 11 wherein responsive to a determination thatthe sub-group trend is predictive of a value greater than the brightoverride threshold, the control circuitry further configured to: causethe window treatments associated with the respective sensor sub-group totransition to a physical configuration corresponding to the brightoverride window treatment mode.
 13. The system of claim 11 whereinresponsive to a determination that the sub-group trend is predictive ofa value less than the dark override threshold, the control circuitryfurther configured to: cause the window treatments associated with therespective sensor sub-group to transition to a physical configurationcorresponding to the dark override window treatment mode.
 14. The systemof claim 11 wherein responsive to a determination that the sub-grouptrend is predictive of a value between the bright override threshold andthe dark override threshold, the control circuitry further configuredto: cause the window treatments associated with the respective sensorsub-group to transition to a physical configuration corresponding to thesunlight penetrating limiting window treatment mode.
 15. The system ofclaim 14 wherein to cause the window treatments associated with therespective sensor sub-group to the physical configuration correspondingto the sunlight penetrating limiting window treatment mode, the controlcircuitry further configured to: determine the physical configurationcorresponding to the sunlight penetrating limiting window treatment modebased on a geolocation, a current date, and a current time of day. 16.The system of claim 9 wherein to determine the sub-group trend using thehistorical sensor data from at least the portion of the sensors includedin the respective sensor sub-group, the control circuitry furtherconfigured to: determine the difference between the greatest valueincluded in the historical signal data and the least value included inthe historical signal data over a defined temporal interval.
 17. Amotorized window treatment system control method, comprising: receiving,by control circuitry via communications interface circuitry, a pluralityof signals from a master sensor group that includes a correspondingplurality of sensors disposed across a building façade; based on currentsignal data and stored historical signal data, dynamically forming, bythe control circuitry within the master sensor group, a plurality ofsensor sub-groups, each of the plurality of sub-groups including atleast a portion of the sensors forming the plurality of sensors includedin the master sensor group; associating, by the control circuitry one ormore window treatments with each of the plurality of sensor sub-groups;for each of the plurality of sensor sub-groups: determining, by thecontrol circuitry, a sub-group trend using the current signal data andthe historical signal data from at least a portion of the sensorsincluded in the respective sensor sub-group; based on the determinedsub-group trend reading for the sensor sub-group, determining, by thecontrol circuitry, a window treatment mode for the one or more windowtreatments associated with the respective sensor sub-group; andcommunicating, by the control circuitry via the communications interfacecircuitry, an output to the one or more window treatments via thecommunications interface circuitry.
 18. The method of claim 17 whereindetermining a window treatment mode for the one or more windowtreatments associated with the respective sensor sub-group, furthercomprises: selecting, by the control circuitry, one of: a dark overridewindow treatment mode; a sunlight penetrating limiting window treatmentmode; or a bright override window treatment mode.
 19. The method ofclaim 18 wherein determining the sub-group trend using the currentsensor data and the historical sensor data from at least the portion ofthe sensors included in the respective sensor sub-group, furthercomprises: determining, by the control circuitry, if the sub-group trendis predictive of a value greater than a bright override threshold or avalue less than a dark override threshold value.
 20. The method of claim19 further comprising: causing, by the control circuitry, the windowtreatments associated with the respective sensor sub-group to transitionto a physical configuration corresponding to the bright override windowtreatment mode responsive to the determination by the control circuitrythat the sub-group trend is predictive of a value greater than thebright override threshold.
 21. The method of claim 19 furthercomprising: causing, by the control circuitry, the window treatmentsassociated with the respective sensor sub-group to transition to aphysical configuration corresponding to the dark override windowtreatment mode responsive to the determination by the control circuitrythat the sub-group trend is predictive of a value less than the darkoverride threshold.
 22. The method of claim 19 further comprising:causing, by the control circuitry, the window treatments associated withthe respective sensor sub-group to transition to a physicalconfiguration corresponding to the sunlight penetrating limiting windowtreatment mode, responsive to the determination by the control circuitrythat the sub-group trend is predictive of a value between the brightoverride threshold and the dark override threshold.
 23. The method ofclaim 22 wherein causing the window treatments associated with therespective sensor sub-group to the physical configuration correspondingto the sunlight penetrating limiting window treatment mode, furthercomprises: determining, by the control circuitry, the physicalconfiguration corresponding to the sunlight penetrating limiting windowtreatment mode based on a geolocation, a current date, and a currenttime of day.
 24. The method of claim 17 wherein determining thesub-group trend using the historical sensor data from at least theportion of the sensors included in the respective sensor sub-groupfurther comprises: determining, by the control circuitry, the differencebetween the greatest value included in the historical signal data andthe least value included in the historical signal data over a definedtemporal interval.
 25. A non-transitory, machine-readable, storagedevice that includes instructions that, when executed by motorizedwindow treatment control circuitry, causes the control circuitry to:receive, via communications interface circuitry, a plurality of signalsfrom a master sensor group that includes a corresponding plurality ofsensors disposed across a building façade; based on current signal dataand stored historical signal data, dynamically form within the mastersensor group, a plurality of sensor sub-groups, each of the plurality ofsub-groups including at least a portion of the sensors forming theplurality of sensors included in the master sensor group; associate oneor more window treatments with each of the plurality of sensorsub-groups; for each of the plurality of sensor sub-groups: determine asub-group trend using the current signal data and historical signal datafrom at least a portion of the sensors included in the respective sensorsub-group; based on the determined sub-group trend reading for thesensor sub-group, determine a window treatment mode for the one or morewindow treatments associated with the respective sensor sub-group; andcommunicate via the communications interface circuitry, an output to theone or more window treatments via the communications interfacecircuitry.
 26. The non-transitory, machine-readable, storage device ofclaim 25 wherein the instructions that cause the control circuitry todetermine a window treatment mode for the one or more window treatmentsassociated with the respective sensor sub-group, further causes thecontrol circuitry to: select one of: a dark override window treatmentmode; a sunlight penetrating limiting window treatment mode; or a brightoverride window treatment mode.
 27. The non-transitory,machine-readable, storage device of claim 26 wherein the instructionsthat cause the control circuitry to determine the sub-group trend usingthe current sensor data and the historical sensor data from at least theportion of the sensors included in the respective sensor sub-group,further causes the control circuitry to: determine if the sub-grouptrend is predictive of a value greater than a bright override thresholdor a value less than a dark override threshold value.
 28. Thenon-transitory, machine-readable, storage device of claim 27 herein theinstructions further cause the control circuitry to: cause the windowtreatments associated with the respective sensor sub-group to transitionto a physical configuration corresponding to the bright override windowtreatment mode responsive to the determination by the control circuitrythat the sub-group trend is predictive of a value greater than thebright override threshold.
 29. The non-transitory, machine-readable,storage device of claim 27 wherein the instructions further cause thecontrol circuitry to: cause the window treatments associated with therespective sensor sub-group to transition to a physical configurationcorresponding to the dark override window treatment mode responsive tothe determination by the control circuitry that the sub-group trend ispredictive of a value less than the dark override threshold.
 30. Thenon-transitory, machine-readable, storage device of claim 27 wherein theinstructions further cause the control circuitry to: cause the windowtreatments associated with the respective sensor sub-group to transitionto a physical configuration corresponding to the sunlight penetratinglimiting window treatment mode, responsive to the determination by thecontrol circuitry that the sub-group trend is predictive of a valuebetween the bright override threshold and the dark override threshold.31. The non-transitory, machine-readable, storage device of claim 30wherein the instructions that cause the control circuitry to cause thewindow treatments associated with the respective sensor sub-group to thephysical configuration corresponding to the sunlight penetratinglimiting window treatment mode, further causes the control circuitry to:determining, by the control circuitry, the physical configurationcorresponding to the sunlight penetrating limiting window treatment modebased on a geolocation, a current date, and a current time of day. 32.The non-transitory, machine-readable, storage device of claim 25 whereinthe instructions that cause the control circuitry to determine thesub-group trend using the historical sensor data from at least theportion of the sensors included in the respective sensor sub-groupfurther causes the control circuitry to: determine the differencebetween the greatest value included in the historical signal data andthe least value included in the historical signal data over a definedtemporal interval.